Immortal Sin
by Apathetic Silence
Summary: "I'm... in love with you." He tells her with a small smile. "I'm still in love with you." The tears just fell as he placed his hands on her cheeks. "So... come back to me, please." She couldn't believe that she forgot about him so easily. AU SasuSaku
1. Mysterious New Students

Months.

Years.

Decades.

_Centuries._

The truth can be altered with each generation, because most stories are passed on by word-of-mouth. Some, though rare, are written in stone.

One person discovers something from history, and passes it on.

It's like a game of "Pass the Message", but never ending.

But when it does reach the end, how accurate is it?

For instance, a never-ending war between Vampires and Werewolves has always been thought to be a fight for power. It can't be considered a cat and mouse chase, nor can it be assumed as a predator and prey thing, because Vampires, also known to be as _Immortals_, feed on blood. Werewolves, _Shifters_ to some, devour flesh or raw meat in particular. They do not kill each other to eat the other, but rather, no human really knows just what they're fighting for.

Some say Shifters fight for freedom, because there have been numerous stories of the Werewolves being used as slaves by the Vampires.

Others think it's a fight for survival, because Immortals believe that the human wolves are barbaric and cannot be tamed, causing a lot of lives to be at stake.

Writers and Historians have altered the truth, if not, unable to accurately rewrite and retell the original version of the truth.

Until that is discovered, more blood will be spilled, and more flesh will be devoured.

_More humans will die.

* * *

_

**Immortal Sin**_**  
"**__**Mysterious New Students"

* * *

**_

Stares…

Whispers…

Sighs…

These three things were normal for any new student, provided he or she gives off a strong aura, or perhaps bears a striking appearance deemed _extraordinary_.

However, these weren't typical looks, murmurs, and noisy exhales.

Rather, these were _lacking_. They lacked adjectives, and so, they must be completed _properly_.

Awed stares would be the right term to describe the way the students of Leaf Academy had eyed five men.

Excited whispers came from the young teens' mouths, words that talked about how the new boys walked, dressed, and looked.

Dreamy and defeated sighs were followed up from girls and boys respectively, giving off the impression that _**girls**__** want them**_ and _**guys**__** want to be like**__** them**__._

All five of them looked to be around the age of eighteen to nineteen, heads sporting raven-colored strands of different styles.

One stood tall and took long but steady strides. His hair reached up until his waist, a few strands clumping together in front of his face that slanted to the left, while the rest parted to reveal striking white eyes that made people think he was blind. His lips were set in a straight line, and his clenched fists revealed the tension he was experiencing from catching too much attention.

His clothes consisted of faded black jeans, a white shirt over it, and a pale yellow short-sleeved dress shirt buttoned-up properly. He had a couple of silver, thick rings on his thumbs and pointing fingers, his right hand having one more on his ring finger. His sneakers were purely white, but from the looks of how slightly dirty they were, it would appear to be a fairly new pair.

The other boy who walked to his left, at least an arm's length away from him, had a couple of small round-shaped sunglasses that hid his eyes. His brows were slightly furrowed, and his mouth was hidden beneath a high-collared coat at the color of dark green. His hands were buried in his jacket's pockets, and his blue jeans were ripped on the knee areas. His footwear consisted of a pair of black and white Converse shoes.

His hair was spiky but short, yet looking like an afro but not entirely one. Compared to the long-haired guy, this one seemed to be a bit more at ease just from how relaxed his shoulders looked, but that didn't mean he wasn't feeling tense either.

"Neji, Shino." One of the remaining three spoke, his deep voice echoing from the ears of the female population who nearly fainted. "Control yourselves." He said in a much quieter tone, his brows furrowed slightly to get his point across.

With a nod from the two men, he then returned to keeping his gaze up ahead.

He walked in the middle of the first two men, though slightly behind them, and based from his strides, the students could already tell that he was someone who liked control or authority.

Walking towards the school's entrance made his bangs sway, the dark strands parting just above his left eye to give others a good view of his face. Those who looked at him raised their gaze to his dark onyx orbs, and with just one look into those eyes, they dismissed this boy as a mysterious and deep person – someone who would only give vague answers, or perhaps choose to remain silent. The rest of his hair spiked at the back, a style not too many could pull off, but he could carry it without a problem.

His shoulders were straight, but not stiff, his hands were pocketed in his dark blue jeans, and his black leather shoes made no noise with each step he took. The shirt he wore was a black button-up one, with only two of the buttons in the middle holding it together to reveal the grey shirt he wore beneath it. His cuffs were unbuttoned as well, revealing his wrist's skin tone to be pale, just like the other boys he was with. His right wrist had about three thin black straps around it, while his left had a silver chain bracelet, his name engraved on the tag between the chains in calligraphic style.

His left ear's helix had a silver clip attached to it, and around his neck were two black laces which held an inch long tag. It was thin and simple, nothing worth the attention, but can still capture the eyes of the people looking. His lips held a frown, and it made the students wonder if he wasn't pleased with the idea of attending Leaf Academy.

Behind the spiky haired boy were the remaining two of the group.

The one on the right sported a hairstyle close to that of a pineapple's shape. He had a pair of silver hoop earrings on his ears, and his hands were folded behind his head. His left eye was closed, while his right was halfway open, making the others see him as someone laid back or very lazy. His red shirt was tucked out of his beige cargoes and contained a black neckline and sleeve ends. His shoes were black and white sneakers, and from the looks of the left one, the laces were about to come undone.

Both of his wrists sported black wrist bands with red lines on them in order to match his shirt.

"Relax Sasuke," he spoke in a drawl, though low to not let anyone else hear. "It's not like those two would really snap."

"I'm not taking any chances."

"Well, we'll know if ever Neji and Shino _do_ snap." The last of the five men said in a chipper voice.

Compared to the four boys, this guy wasn't as attractive as they were, but his friendly grin and approachable aura made the students want to get to know him.

His hair was a bowl-cut style, and his eyebrows were pretty thick. But despite his looks being like that, his smile was bright – it made the people smile back.

He sported a hooded green jacket and a lime green shirt beneath it. His denims were faded, making it appear to be worn out. His sneakers had mixed colors of black, green, and white, making the students who continued to ogle at them think that this guy loved the color green.

"I just hate it when this happens." Neji murmured.

"Get used to it," Sasuke answered almost immediately. "We're new students."

"It's not like we were required to attend today, right?"

"Lee's right," Shino huffed. "Whose idea was it for us to go now?"

"Look," Sasuke sounded exasperated, and the four knew that they ought to stop questioning the situation. "My brother said we should check the school out, just to get a head's up on who we'll be dealing with."

"Ah, scout for _Shifters_, correct?"

"Yeah Shikamaru," his eyes narrowed. "We need to know just how many of them are here."

"So your brother thought it would be a good idea to send all five of us in the same school?" Neji snorted. "I don't think he was the one who came up with that."

"Hn."

When Sasuke replied with that grunt, it meant "end of conversation, I will say no more", so the silence was back.

* * *

Leaf Academy is a prestigious school in Konoha. It accepted not just students who can afford the tuition fee, but also those who excel in sports, academics, and even music. The school offered various scholarships in order to give hope to some of the less fortunate ones out there, and no one expected that two of the Student Council members would be a part of the _struggling_ society.

"It's not today, it can't be today…"

The Vice President sighed and rolled her eyes upon hearing her best friend, a.k.a. the President, talk to herself once again.

"Sakura, really, just calm down! They could be just visiting, you know?"

Haruno Sakura is a student who relies on her grades to keep her scholarship in academics. Teachers would tend to give her extra credit in case she doesn't meet the required GPA, and some who knew of this had begun to think that she was a _Teacher's Pet_.

In all honesty, it was only because she was a dependable student who made things work, who managed to keep things in order, and also made the impossible, possible.

The Principal herself favors her, so it's only natural for the faculty to as well.

However, Sakura didn't like it since it changed the way her fellow students treated her. The fact that she's parentless didn't help, not to mention that she's the only girl in school who had _pink_ hair.

"Ino," she dropped to the ground and sighed heavily, her blue tie coming loose from her frantic movements. "I am so stressed right now."

With one look from the VP, Sakura knew that she was also messed up.

For one thing, her black coat was unbuttoned, and her blue skirt had a lot of wrinkles. The laces of her brown boots came undone, and her half-ponytail styled hair had loosened.

"Sakura, seriously." Ino stood up from her seat in the Student Council room and knelt down before her best friend. "These guys are scheduled to come tomorrow; they're probably just taking in the sights today."

"But… still." She frowned and bit her lower lip. "The School Festival's coming, and only three classes from our batch have given their proposals! I've only got two weeks left to finalize everything! And then the new students thing! Plus that Geometry homework and History project! Oh god I'm rambling!"

Ino's blue eyes softened, and her lips curved upwards to form an encouraging smile.

"You're Haruno Sakura, you can pull all these off!" she raised a fist. "And I'm your best friend! I will help you overcome all of this!"

That always helped, Ino was sure, and she'd cut her blonde hair short if it didn't.

With a small grin, Sakura nodded her head. "Thanks Ino."

"Now," she stood up just as soon as their Treasurer came in. "Tenten's here, let's go grab lunch, the bell rang ten minutes ago."

* * *

A yawn escaped Shikamaru's lips, causing his four companions to turn to him.

"What? I'm bored."

"I asked where you guys wanted to go, and you all agreed on _Cafeteria_."

"Then maybe next time you should suggest a place instead, I mean, you are our _Lead Knight_."

He stiffened when Sasuke glared at him. "Lower your voice." He said in a hushed tone, afterwards, turned away from Neji and scanned their surroundings.

The students still talked about them, whether it was their looks, their Nationality, or from which family they came from.

"Let's go somewhere quieter." He said, making a move to stand as his companions did the same, Shino muttering a comment about how Sasuke always preferred a quiet place.

"Watch out!"

"Huh?"

He didn't think that warning from a student would involve him, so when he had turned, he didn't expect his clothes to be assaulted by a tray filled with food.

The sudden impact had caused him to step back, and had it not been for the table, he would have probably fallen to the floor.

"Sasuke, you okay?"

As expected from Neji to instantly fuss over something as small as an accident…

"I'm fine." He said, eyes focusing on the female student who was staring back at him with wide-eyes. He took notice of how tight her grip on her now empty tray was, meaning she was probably nervous and embarrassed of what she has done.

"I'm sorry!" she bowed down immediately. "I'm so, so sorry!"

"You should have watched where-" he instantly prevented Neji from continuing his verbal assault by raising an arm against his chest. Neji looked over at him questioningly, and he shook his head in return before straightening back up.

He looked down at himself as the girl continued apologizing, her friends, or so he assumed, telling her that she should have been careful.

"I-I'll pay for the laundry for your clothes, and… and..."

"_Why…"_ he glanced at her. _"…is she so nervous?"_

"Tsk. You won't be able to pay for that," he heard Shikamaru speak, and he sensed the teasing tone from the usually lazy guy. "After all, his clothes are pre-tty expensive."

Instantly, he saw the girl's expression change from an apologizing look to one of worry.

"I… I'll pay for it! Even if-"

"It's fine." He answered, sighing silently. "Don't bother."

"But-" he walked pass her. "But-" she turned to look at him, seeing him stop. "I have-"

He turned his head slightly to her. "It's fine." He repeated. "This is nothing." He turned back to the guys, and with a nod of his head, they followed him out of the Cafeteria.

* * *

"Man, that's gonna stain…"

He ignored Lee's comment and just sighed before unbuttoning his dress shirt and removing it.

"At least your shirt's clean." Shikamaru said with a small grin. "But tell me, Sasuke, why so lenient?"

He folded the stained shirt before washing his hands after switching on the faucet. "She's a human."

"And..?"

"She's not from a well-off family." He splashed water on his face before switching off the faucet and staring at himself on the mirror, watching how the water droplets trickled down his face. "Besides, I don't care much for clothes." He eyed Shikamaru's reflection. "So you didn't need to lie about how much this cost."

"Hey, her reaction was amusing." He shrugged and folded his arms behind his head. "You've got to admit, that was an entertaining incident."

"It still doesn't change the fact that she bumped into you." Neji reminded with a frown.

Sasuke threw him his dress shirt and smirked lightly. "Lighten up will you? It's just a harmless accident." He ran his fingers through his hair to rid them of a few water residues. "It's not like it would have killed me."

The bathroom door soon opened as in came two students who were chattering animatedly. When they felt how the five men were staring at them, they quieted down and slowly backed away, afterwards, completely left the bathroom.

Shino gave a tiny smirk. "Works every time..."

"I guess we're just intimidating." Lee whistled.

"Hn."

Soon after, four more of them came in.

Unlike what they did to the previous two, the five just decided to ignore them.

One of the four went towards a cubicle, while two of them talked. The last one just stood quietly, head slightly lowered.

It took a few minutes before the four boys left the bathroom, leaving the five of them once again.

"Shino."

Shino nodded once to Sasuke.

"So they know." He murmured to himself, afterwards, pocketed his hands and walked out of the bathroom, the four following him wordlessly, already knowing what he meant.

"Should we pursue?" Neji asked.

"Not now," Sasuke answered. "It's too early, besides, he hasn't shown any signs of hostility."

* * *

He liked the power he felt, loved how the students cleared the hallway to give him and his group a path to walk on.

"Move it 'ya little worm!"

He heard one of his companions shove a freshman to the wall, and that brought him a satisfied smirk.

"Should we skip school?"

"Yeah." He answered his companion, leading the way towards the staircase where less students passed by. He stopped, however, upon seeing the five men that the school has been talking about.

"What is it Ichiro?"

He frowned at how the five just remained stationed on the stairs, three of them seated on the steps, while the other two chose to lean on either railings. From how they were positioned, he could tell that the one seated on the middle was their leader.

"Nothing." He just decided to have a little fun by climbing down the stairs and purposely bumping the spiky-haired male. "Whoops." He inwardly smirked as he saw the teen stumble forward a bit, though he was disappointed that he didn't fall forward. "Hm. Then again, this isn't really a place to hang out." He passed by the group, his friends tailing behind with snickers.

"Just a minute."

He stopped to glance at the long-haired boy who was glaring at him.

"Is there a problem?" He asked with a smug grin.

The boy opened his mouth to speak, but the one he purposely bumped earlier stood up and prevented the guy from saying anything.

This caused his brows to furrow.

"No," he saw how the guy had gritted his teeth, apparently displeased that their leader stopped him. "There isn't."

"Heh." He just turned away and proceeded walking.

As soon as they were out of ear shot, Ichiro's friend came up to him. "How about it?"

Ichiro just chuckled. "I think it's about time we let them know that we won't be taking any crap from them."

"How do you plan to do that?"

A smirk made its way to his lips. "Wait and see."

* * *

It was totaled – at least, the tires and windows were, other than that, the car was fine.

However, Shino being Shino, it was _not_ okay.

"It's them." He said with clenched fists. "I can still smell their filthy stench."

Neji glanced at Sasuke who still remained impassive over the situation, and he wondered if he was going to stop Shino from running after those same guys who bumped him.

"I'm going to castrate those bastards, if not smash their heads on concrete."

"Shino."

He abruptly faced Sasuke.

"Don't." he said with narrowed eyes.

"This is one time I'm not obeying." And he suddenly took off.

Neji shrugged and followed, afterwards, so did Lee.

Shikamaru stretched his arms and glanced at Sasuke. "So."

He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. "Itachi's going to kill me for this."

And with that said, they both ran after their friends.

It didn't take too long for them to catch up with a speeding Shino, and Sasuke had to curse at how fast they were going.

"Shino!" he called out, loud enough for everyone in their group to hear. "Calm down!"

"I'm far from calm!" he yelled back. "Those assholes wrecked my car!" and he sped up even more.

It took them less than a minute to catch up with Ichiro and company, and when Shino saw their car up ahead, he immediately sprinted faster and jumped high into the air, afterwards, landed before the speeding vehicle and smashed his fist onto the hood, creating a large dent and causing a few chunks of metal to fly off.

Instantly, Ichiro and his gang stepped out of the car and snarled at Shino.

"Fuck."

Shikamaru looked towards Sasuke. "What's wrong?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at their surroundings. "They led us here."

It was only then did the lazy genius of the team take notice of how abandoned the place was, and how the beat up road they stood on was surrounded by thick patches of trees.

"They know." He whispered, frowning at that thought. "Sasuke, these guys…"

He didn't get a chance to continue, because Shino had immediately tackled Ichiro, who then fought back after transforming into a wolf-like creature.

"Shifters." Sasuke seethed, jumping into action when one of Ichiro's friends had attempted to charge at Shino from behind. He held back the Werewolf's arms in order to prevent him from hurting anyone. "Ch, damn it!" he tightened his grip when the struggling wouldn't cease. The other three were also being preoccupied by Neji, Lee, and Shikamaru, while Shino and Ichiro had taken their fight to the forestry area.

"Are we going to kill them yet?" Neji asked while evading a few scratches from the Werewolf he was fighting.

Sasuke gritted his teeth as he reviewed their current situation.

He was told to keep the Knights in order, told to stay away from trouble or fights as much as possible, told to make sure that they only defend when attacked, and kill when needed.

"_These guys are still pups."_ He thought, judging how the Werewolves were reckless and didn't stick together like normal packs. _"Not to mention that they're students in Leaf Academy, people will surely wonder about their sudden disappearance."_

His train of thought was cut off when he heard a painful howl echo from the forest, and soon, everything was silent once again.

The Werewolves he and the rest held back immediately growled angrily, and Sasuke could tell that Shino had killed their leader.

"Sasuke!"

He had no other choice but to do what he hates doing.

With one swift movement of his hands, he had snapped the neck of the Shifter he was holding back, giving the creature a quick and painless death.

"Kill them." He said afterwards, his eyes not leaving the corpse of the wolf-like human.

* * *

"Hmmm…" he leaned back on his chair. "This is… a mess."

"Hn."

"You could at least pretend to care."

"Just get on with it."

He smiled slightly at his brother's impatience. "Why don't you go take a walk to calm yourself a bit?"

"Itachi, just tell me what I have to do to clear this."

"There's nothing you can do." He said. "They provoked your team, they would have killed you if you didn't kill them."

"Don't cover for me."

"I'm not." He looked back down at the written report his brother had given. "I'm just saying that you had no choice."

Silence enveloped the two brothers for a few moments before the younger one raised his head to meet his older sibling's gaze. "What about their identities as students?"

"We'll leave that to Society." Itachi said. "Now, go clear your head."

"Itachi."

"Oh geez. Fine! Go see Tsunade's assistant if you're _that_ worried."

* * *

"Wah… so tired…" she staggered while making her way out of the staffroom, apologizing every now and then for bumping into a few of her co-workers, who seemed to sympathize with her.

"Sakura, you should really just work on weekends, you know? It's not like Shizune-san won't understand."

"No, I'm fine Matsuri-san." She forced a smile. "I just didn't think that I'd have to rush so many paperwork earlier." She scratched the back of her head and sighed.

"Well, hang in there, we've still got four hours left before nine."

"Yeah, I'm glad I didn't choose a shift until midnight." She nodded once before picking up her tray which she left on the counter. "How are today's sales doing Sai?"

"Just okay." He said from behind the counter. "But it still sucks how there's no improvement at all."

Sakura sighed slightly. "I wonder how Shizune-san will be able to pay for the rental next month…"

"Well, worry about that later, we've got a customer."

She quickly turned around and gasped. "Oh crap."

"You know him?"

"I-erm… spilled food onto him in school." She hesitantly made her way over to him. "W-Welcome to M-Midnight Café."

He stared at her, long and hard, before opening his mouth to speak: "…You."

"E-Eh?" She gave a nervous smile. "H-How can I be of assistance to you, master?"

He quirked a brow at her, and then looked down at her clothing: A French Maid outfit.

"I… Er…"

"Hn." He looked around, not caring much for the stares he received from female customers who ignored the hosts who served them. "Is Shizune-san around?"

"O-Oh, you know our manager?"

He blinked at her, once, twice.

"Oh, duh." She bopped her head. "Hang on, I'll… go get her." She turned around to leave, but then came back. "Ah sorry, I forgot to lead you to your seat!" she asked him to follow her, afterwards, had him sit down on a chair near the wall. She handed him a menu before taking her leave to call Shizune.

"_That was really stupid of you Sakura."_ She told herself while knocking at Shizune's office. "Um, Shizune-san?" she opened the door and took a peek inside. "I would just like to inform you that someone came here to see you."

"Hm? Who?"

She blushed. "Oh shoot, I forgot to ask."

"It's okay." Shizune stood up from her seat and smiled. "I'll go see who it is." And she stepped out to follow Sakura who led her to where Sasuke is.

Upon arriving, however, they were met with a couple of girls who were swarming around him.

"Well, I think I know who it is now." Shizune grinned, afterwards, made her way through the bevy of girls. "Excuse me ladies, but I think I need to speak with our soon-to-be host."

Both Sasuke and Sakura were surprised at what Shizune had said, and the female customers had immediately squealed and parted from the young teen as Shizune pulled Sasuke towards her office.

Once inside and away from the fans, Sasuke immediately gave Shizune a look.

"I had to say something to get them away."

"Hn. And now they think I'll be working here someday."

She smiled. "Your brother did say you ought to get out more often."

He frowned.

"So, what business do you have with me?"

"Five students were killed earlier."

Shizune's happy-go-lucky expression turned into a serious one at that.

"Shifters," Sasuke continued. "They provoked Shino, and you know how that guy is when it comes to his cars."

"I'll inform Tsunade as soon as possible."

"Please do." He nodded once before turning to take his leave.

"So, about that job…"

Sasuke smirked slightly. "Not interested."

Once he stepped out of the door, he was surprised when Sakura yelped and tripped. Acting on reflex, he caught her around the waist and extended out a hand to catch the tray filled with sweets she was carrying earlier, managing to save the orders from meeting their doom.

"A-ah! Sorry!" Sakura flushed when she realized that she was pressed up against Sasuke, and that this was the second time she had bumped onto him.

"Hn." He let her go and handed her back the tray. "You should get some rest."

"Eh..?" she blinked and took the tray back.

"You need sleep if you want to work more effectively." He nodded once to her as a way of saying bye, and then walked off, leaving Sakura stunned.

"_Just… who is he?"_ she looked at her tray. _"He had fast reflexes to be able to catch these all at once."

* * *

_

It was out of the question to abandon your family just because you don't like how they live.

Just because you don't want to kill.

"We have to move faster!"

"I know that! But they're still gaining on us!"

"Just-just keep running!" he told his younger sibling. _"We can't stay, not when they know how we refuse to kill humans…"_

They were still far from the main road, but they continued to run, even hopping onto thick branches just to get an additional boost, all because they wanted to escape the life of a Shifter.

"What do we do when we're home free?"

"I don't know." He answered, biting his lower lip. "I… don't know." But he was sure that it was better than staying within the pack.

He lit up a bit when he saw a bright light, and he told his brother to hurry up.

When they got out of the forest, they didn't expect to land on the hood and roof of a car, but they didn't stop to check the damage, and instead, continued running, ending up in the other side of the forest.

"What the fuck?"

The driver of the car got out and glared at where the two had taken off. He was about to yell after them, when three more came and used his car as a boost to send them hurtling to where the first two were headed.

"Crap, Shifters." He said, seeing his three companions step out of the car as well. "You know what that means."

"Shino, don't-"

"Too late." He sprinted after them.

"Troublesome."

"You know how he is when it comes to his car." He glanced at their other friend. "Come on Lee." And they took off, leaving their other comrade behind.

"Geez, Sasuke's going to be so pissed off…" and he took after them.

From what he could see, Shino had already ran pass the three Werewolves, and two of them were being stopped by Neji and Lee. He chose to grab the other one and threw him towards a tree.

The Shifter growled, his eyes widening upon seeing the three of them, before he turned and ran away.

"Tail him!"

Shikamaru looked at Neji who just killed the Werewolf he was fighting with.

"Shikamaru! Tail him!"

He frowned. "No."

Neji snarled. "We can't let it live! Not after seeing-"

"We only kill if necessary." He said. "He didn't fight back, but rather, retreated. There was no need for murder."

"You'd rather have that thing call for reinforcements and get back at us?"

He tilted his head. "Scared?"

He gritted his teeth.

"Neji! Shikamaru!" Lee called their attention after finishing off the remaining Shifter. "Shino is still pursuing two of them."

The two gave on last look to each other before following Lee who went after their other companion.

When they reached Shino, they weren't surprised to see the two young Werewolves cornered and trying to back away from him.

"No use running anymore." He cracked his knuckles. "Time to pay the price for ruining my new car." He ran towards them with his fist pulled back, but what he didn't expect was someone appearing and sending him back with just one push of an arm.

His back hit a nearby tree, and he knew he would have continued flying backwards if it weren't for the large oak.

"We're screwed." Shikamaru mumbled, before raising both hands up in the air. "I had nothing to do with this."

"Save it." The newcomer said, afterwards, turned to look at the two scared Shifters. "They're still pups."

Neji stepped forward. "You're planning to spare them."

He glanced at Neji, his eyebrows narrowing slightly. "Do you intend to argue with me?"

He kept his mouth shut and shook his head, his clenched fists relaxing slightly.

"Hn." He looked towards Shino. "And you, control that _fucking_ temper of yours."

Shino spat blood out and wiped his chin clean. "Sorry, that was a new car." He looked up at him. "You smell like coffee…"

"Shizune's." he answered before looking back at the two. "Why were you running?"

They didn't answer.

"You're not giving me a reason to spare your lives."

"Why kill us? We've never murdered anyone!" the younger one blurted out. "We… we just wanted to… get away…"

"A Werewolf refusing to devour a human?" Neji snorted. "Ridiculous."

The older of the two growled. "And how is it different from you not wanting to drink from a human?"

Neji's eyes formed into a glare, and his right hand immediately emitted mist. "Do you want to become a frozen _bastard_?"

"For the record, I know who my father is."

"You little piece of-"

"Enough." Sasuke said in a tone of finality. "Shino, confirm."

Shino nodded once before getting up and walking over to the two Werewolves. "This might hurt a bit." He warned the older one, afterwards, the Shifter felt pain coursing through his body, his sibling immediately demanding to know what he was doing.

A few seconds passed, and Shino stopped whatever it was he was doing. "He's telling the truth."

"Hn. And the other one?"

"Let me check." He did the same to the blonde-haired Shifter, but it didn't take long compared to the other. "He's much more cooperative, I see." He smirked. "But that doesn't mean I'll let them get away with what they did to my car."

* * *

_**Apathetic Silence: **__And because my cousin suggested this, well, __**we're now accepting questions that you will direct to the characters**__.__ For instance: "This is for Sasuke, what's your last name?" Something like that._

_**CrAzY-SiLLy-Me: **__BOO! :D It's fun, right?_

_**Apathetic Silence: **__Are you even done with the "Art book" thing you planned for this story?_

_**CrAzY-SiLLy-Me: **__Just the line arts of "Character Profile Sasuke" and chibi SasuSaku. :D_

_**Apathetic Silence: **__…How many drawings have you done?_

_**CrAzY-SiLLy-Me: **__That's a secret. D_

_**Apathetic Silence: **__Hm. In that case, readers, __**please choose a character you want a Profile Review of**__ so that my cousin here will have no choice but to post it in her deviantArt account, if not on facebook. __**Note that you may only choose a character who has already appeared or has been mentioned in this chapter. If there will be new ones on the next chapter, then they can be included.**_


	2. Spark of Interest

Not too many people appreciate having pets around the house, unless they were properly trained.

In this case, however, two hyperactive Shifters can't stop running around the large house the Silver Knights live in, and it was making Neji pissed off.

"Will you two pipe down and just sit still?"

The two immediately did by plopping down on the couch.

"Finally…" Neji turned to look at Sasuke's small smirk. "What did you have in mind when we brought these two home?"

"To piss you off."

"Seriously." He grumbled. "I know you, you're planning something."

Sasuke shook his head and turned his back to them. "Since you disobeyed a direct order, you'll have to babysit those two."

"What?"

"You and Shino," He stopped. "And Lee."

"And what about Shikamaru?" Shino asked, accepting the punishment, knowing that it wasn't too bad, especially since the two Werewolves were easy to scare.

"He can relax," He saw Shikamaru sigh in relief. "For now."

Sometimes, their Lead Knight can be a jackass when he wants to be.

* * *

**Immortal Sin**_**  
"Spark of Interest"

* * *

**_

The Silver Knights are a team of teenaged-looking Vampires who blend-in with humans in order to protect them from Werewolves who wish to devour their flesh. Only four members are selected to serve under someone, and current members are replaced when dead, or perhaps promoted to a higher position in another group.

Silver Knights hunt down Werewolves, and are lead by the leader of the team whom the Immortals label as "Lead Knight".

That being Sasuke, he knows his responsibilities in the group; whenever they make a mistake, he takes the blame for everything since his role is to keep them in line, and higher ranking Immortals make sure that he remembers it.

It's one of the reasons why the guys listen to him, because they don't want him dealing with the elder groups or the more experienced ones called Eclipse.

He didn't really want the position of Lead Knight but it wasn't his choice to make.

Sasuke knew that his role would be permanent unless Eclipse promotes him to a higher rank, or when someone better than him comes.

The chance of the latter option, however, is slim. His brother said so, and Itachi was one of the youngest Immortals who has a role in Eclipse.

The younger sibling of the two just happens to have better control of his temper, making the other Knights wonder just how he does it. Sasuke still claims that Shikamaru has longer patience than him, but due to the supposed genius' laziness, Sasuke got stuck with the job as the Lead Knight.

Of course, Itachi had pointed out that Shikamaru lacked perfect control for his abilities, whereas Sasuke has no problem dealing with it.

Aside from that, out of all the Knights, he happens to be well disciplined when it comes to blood cravings.

The most days an Immortal of their caliber could go without blood is three – Sasuke can take another day if it means not attacking a human.

"Geez." He sighed and shook his head to get rid of those thoughts as to why he became the Lead Knight. _"I hate this job."_

He felt stressed – especially since Shino just went on another rampage earlier, and he knew for a fact that he'll have to pay a visit to the elders later on.

"_I am not looking forward to that meeting."_ He clenched his hands that were pressed up against the tiled walls of the bathroom. He thought taking a shower would help him calm down, but as it turns out, it didn't. He may have had perfect control for his temper, but he knew that keeping things bottled up would one day make him erupt.

He needed an outlet.

* * *

"Interesting."

"You want them? You can keep them."

Itachi had to smirk at Neji's immediate answer. "I do believe my brother assigned you the job to take care of them."

"Not in the way I had wanted." He grunted, arms still crossed as the two Werewolves wrestled each other playfully on the floor. "Mutts."

Their keen sense of hearing caused them to growl and snarl at Neji, who glared back at them, not the least bit intimidated.

"You wanna have a go at it?" The younger Shifter challenged.

"Bring it on then, mongrel!" Neji snapped, fisting his hands.

"Oh you did not just say that!" The older seethed.

Itachi raised a brow in amusement. "Aren't you going to stop them?"

Shino, Shikamaru, and Lee looked at the older Vampire.

"When Neji snaps, no one but Sasuke can stop him." Shino shrugged. "Besides, I've been itching to actually let these two have it."

"Too troublesome." Shikamaru yawned.

"I feel like this is a good chance to test our strengths!" Lee declared enthusiastically.

Itachi shook his head. Lee never changes.

"Go ahead," He told Neji with one eye closed. "If you want Sasuke to take another blame for your soon-to-be mistake..."

That got Neji to back down and lower his head, and that confused the two Shifters greatly.

"Seeing as you'll be living together," Itachi coughed to get the attention of the two Werewolves. "Sasuke is… how should I put it… the Alpha of the pack."

That got the two to stiffen.

"But… he was the one who said to take us in."

"True," Itachi nodded. "But we're Immortals, we're not Shifters." He stated. "Unlike in your pack, the Alpha here can decide whether there's a need for new members to prove themselves or not."

"Hold it," Shino sat up. "New members?"

Itachi looked over at the weasel clinging on his right shoulder and grinned. "As of today, they're now official members of the Silver Knights – Eclipse's orders."

"BUT THEY'RE WEREWOLVES!" Neji shouted.

"And your Lead Knight welcomed them without a problem." Itachi stroked his pet Guardian. "You took an oath to obey on the day you were chosen as a Knight."

That got Neji to shut his mouth as he threw a glare at the Werewolves that started whimpering.

"Neji."

Neji clicked his tongue and averted his gaze elsewhere, earning relieved sighs from the two pups.

"Wow, they were just snarling earlier too…" Shikamaru commented, afterwards, turned to Sasuke. "Where are you headed?"

Sasuke pulled on a black hooded jacket over his shirt before answering: "Shizune's." and he was out the door.

"Another report to Society, and then a new meeting with the Eclipse later." Shino shook his head. "I'd hate to be in his shoes."

Itachi just gave a small grin. "Then perhaps you can stop disobeying his orders?"

Again, that got another Knight to shut up.

How is it that Eclipse knows everything?

* * *

"Closing time – finally."

"Wow Sakura, you really look tired."

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious Sai, but I'm fine none the less."

He quirked a brow. "If only you were in the same direction as Matsuri and I."

"I don't need an escort." She said with a smirk as she raised a fist. "I can take care of myself."

"It still doesn't change the fact that you're clumsy."

She jumped at the voice behind her, and after turning around, she gave a sigh and placed a hand on her heart. "You scared me."

Sasuke just smirked before looking at the closed store. "Hn. Shizune's gone?"

"Yeah, you missed her about ten minutes ago." Sai answered. "Perhaps you can come back tomorrow?"

"Depends." He murmured, afterwards, glanced at the two. "Don't you… have school tomorrow?"

Sai smiled. "I'm skipping. I need some sleep."

"Two of our staff didn't report, and one just quitted, so we had to stay till closing time." Sakura explained. "So..."

"Hn. That explains Shizune's offer." He said in a soft voice, the two barely hearing him.

"Sorry for making you two wait! I had to- oh." Matsuri stopped and smiled. "Am I… interrupting?"

Sai just shrugged. "It's not really a serious conversation. But if you're ready to go, then let's go."

"Yeah, Sakura, and… um…"

"Sasuke."

"Sasuke, right. I'm Matsuri." She nodded once. "Come on Sai." And the two left.

Sakura felt awkward all of a sudden being alone with a guy she barely knew.

"_It doesn't help the fact that he's good-looking…"_ She sighed silently and looked up at him, only realizing now just how tall he is. "Well, I better head home."

"It's a little late for you to be going home alone," He pointed out. "Where do you live? I'll walk with you."

She flushed slightly at that.

* * *

"Well, this is… a big surprise." Shikamaru drawled upon opening the front door of the large mansion they live in. "What brings the famous three thugs of the Eclipse here?"

"Where's Uchiha?"

"Not here, obviously." Shino muttered from inside, not liking the presence of the visitors.

The Knights didn't really respect the higher ranks after all.

"If he comes back, tell him that these two… _mutts_, will be under him from now on, meaning, they'll be your… pets."

Both Werewolves glared, knowing that 'pet' was just another term for 'slave'.

One of the three turned to the two Shifters. "Problem, mongrels?"

"If you're here to pick a fight with us," Neji moved in front of the two to block them from the underlings of Eclipse. "Then I suggest you just leave."

Shikamaru straightened up, and so did Shino and Lee.

A snort escaped one of the three. "Think you can handle us? You're just Uchiha's lackeys."

"Compared to the likes of an ass-kisser like you, I'd rather be a lackey." Neji retorted with a smirk.

"Why you-"

"Enough." The eldest of the three barked. "You tell Uchiha to teach you about respect."

"Respect is earned, not taught."

Silence engulfed the two groups, and the Shifters could feel the thick tension.

"Hmph. Tell Uchiha that Eclipse will be waiting for his arrival."

"Yeah, whatever." Shikamaru yawned. "Itachi already arrived earlier, why does he need to see the Elders?"

The smirks that appeared on the three's lips had the Knights frown.

"For your disobedience, of course."

* * *

_Step. Step. Step. Step._

She didn't know whether she preferred hearing their footfalls over silence, but either way, both options made her fidget.

After all, this guy was the person who has witnessed and experienced her clumsiness – twice in one day too. And he was a new student as well, not to mention someone who appears to be from a well-off family.

"_Personally, it's kind of… weird for a boy of his status to be walking a girl he barely knows home…" _She bit her lower lip. _"Scratch that, he can't possibly be just travelling on foot all the time…"_

"You can talk if you want."

She blinked. For a second, she almost believed he was mute due to his silence.

"I can tell you're nervous."

That got her to flinch. "Is it that obvious?"

"For me, yes." He said, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. "I just happen to like observing people in how they talk with their body language."

"…Ah, I see…"

"Don't think I'm a pervert just because of that."

"W-Well," She flushed. "It's kind of hard not to, right?"

"Hn." The left side of his mouth curved upwards a bit. "It helps if you want to separate the liars from the honest ones."

"I bet you've never been deceived in your entire life."

"I have, once." He answered. "That's why I tend to keep an eye on any signs of lying."

"You'd make a good interrogator someday, ever thought about it?"

A smirk answered her. "Working with a lot of people isn't something I like."

"I'm not surprised," She shrugged. "You _did_ turn down Shizune-san's offer, not to mention that you didn't seem too happy staying in the cafeteria."

"So you're one of the many students who were staring."

Her smile wasn't the reaction he was expecting.

"Oh come on, don't tell me you're not aware of how you and your friends look! It's like you guys walked out of a fairytale book, or perhaps every girls' fantasy!" She exclaimed. "Maybe even out of a fashion magazine."

He shook his head in amusement. "We're just… regular guys."

"To the population of Leaf Academy, you're not just regular guys."

She was surprised when a car had almost run her over; thankfully, Sasuke had pulled her back just in time.

"Hn. So you're clumsy and careless." He looked down at her, seeing her flustered. "Suicidal much?"

"N-No… I just… well… didn't notice…" She focused on the feel of his hand on her wrist, wondering why he was so cold to the touch. "…thanks."

"Hn." He let her wrist go and crossed the street, stopping half-way to glance at her. "Coming?"

She snapped from her thoughts and jogged after him, debating whether to ask about his body temperature or not.

"Sasuke, right?"

"Aa."

"Are you…" She walked a bit faster and stopped in front of him in order to touch his forehead with her palm. "Feeling alright?"

He looked at her hand, then at her face, seeing the concerned expression written all over it.

"You're cold like ice…" She murmured. "You should have just gone home to get some rest."

Sasuke kept his gaze on hers before lifting his right hand to touch hers that was on his forehead and slowly brought it down.

"I'm fine." He said without letting her hand go just yet. "Just stressed."

Her brows creased together, looking like she was about to scold him, but instead, she said something that could have made him blush if he was still human.

"I think you should let someone pick you up at my place, if not, then stay over and rest."

* * *

It was magnificent – from its head to its tail, the feather-covered animal stood tall and proud. Its eyes were sharp as it searched the place, watching for any signs of danger that may approach.

"Perfect."

He approached the perched falcon with caution, and upon seeing how the winged creature didn't react violently, he proceeded to take bigger steps towards it.

"You'd be suitable."

He let the animal on his shoulder jump down to the floor before reaching out to stroke the falcon's back.

"You can keep an eye out for my brother when things go wrong." He said in a soft voice, afterwards, looked down at the weasel. "Don't you think so, Honoze?"

The mammal only eyed the bird before looking back at its master.

"I'm pretty sure Sasuke would find his job easier with this falcon around."

The calming atmosphere was disrupted when the door to Itachi's office suddenly opened.

"Ever heard of knocking?" he stated calmly without looking at the intruder. "It's no wonder why the Silver Knights have a strong sense of dislike towards you and your friends…"

"I thought you already sent that bird?"

"Don't worry," Itachi murmured. "I'm about to, as soon as I finish testing its skills."

A frown was etched on the man's face. "Your brother hasn't arrived yet, the Elders are displeased."

"He'll show up, eventually." Itachi lowered his hand and looked at the older Immortal. "Eclipse didn't really set a time for him, right?"

"Itachi-sama," he almost snarled. "Just because Sasuke is your brother, does not mean you can overlook his mistakes!"

"Sorry," Itachi turned his back to the man. "I didn't quite catch that."

The lower ranking Immortal suddenly cried out when his entire body was engulfed in flames.

"I-Itachi-sama..!"

The fire died down, leaving second-degree burn marks on the Vampire.

"Know how to address my brother," Itachi said in a cold voice. "He is _still_ of higher status than you."

"I-I a-apologize, Itachi-sama…" He lowered to the ground to bow.

"Consider yourself lucky that you got away with only second-degree burns." He let the falcon perch on his arm and then had it fly into the air. "The others ended up turning into ashes." And his weasel suddenly sent small fireballs of different flame colors towards the flying falcon which evaded every attack in astonishing speed.

Itachi had nearly forgotten about the Immortal whom he had almost burnt due to the satisfaction he was feeling upon seeing the falcon in action.

"_I hope it'll help you, Sasuke."

* * *

_

"I told you already, I'm fine."

She completely ignored him and proceeded to force the spoonful of porridge into his mouth.

"I'm fine, really." He said, dodging her.

"I'm not going to stop until you finish this bowl."

"I'm full."

"Eat."

He sighed and turned his head elsewhere.

Forcing down the glass of water earlier was one thing, eating human food was another.

"Fine." She set the bowl down and picked up the thermometer. "Let me take your temperature instead."

He scowled at her persistence. If she took his temperature, she'd end up calling an ambulance.

From what he's experienced today, this girl wasn't just clumsy and careless, but also annoying.

"I just need sleep." He stood up and took a few steps away from her. "Besides, I need to get going."

"Not in your current state!" She attempted to grab his wrist but failed to calculate their distance properly and ended up tripping.

Her hands reached out to grab a hold of anything, that being Sasuke's shirt. He, in reflex, held her upper arms to keep her from falling, leading to her face being pressed up against his chest.

"_Damn his height."_ She thought with a blush on her cheeks.

"Hn. Klutz."

She glared at him, though he didn't find it intimidating due to her extremely red face.

"Shut up." She pulled away from him and turned her back to him. "It's your fault for being stubborn."

"I'm not the one who tripped."

"Just… just shut up!" She crossed her arms, not really caring anymore. _"Stupid, stupid Sasuke."_

He wondered how long she planned on keeping the silent treatment, since she didn't really like a noiseless atmosphere.

"_Hn. I guess living alone for almost your whole life can be terrifying." _He continued to stare at her back before eyeing her small home, the only thing her deceased parents had left her.

Sakura blinked when she heard the clinking of a metal spoon on the porcelain bowl, so she turned to see what her male companion was up to, her eyes widening when she saw him take a spoonful of porridge and eat it.

"Hn." He opened his eyes halfway as soon as the eating utensil had left his lips. "Not bad."

Her cheeks flushed even more when he looked at her.

"What?"

She just gave a shy smile and took a step closer to him, afterwards, lifted a hand up to the right side of his mouth.

"You've got some…" she trailed off and wiped the stain on the corner of his lips with her thumb.

She was taken aback when he grabbed her hand and licked the sticky rice off of her finger.

That action caused her heart to thump faster, and he could hear it _very clearly_.

* * *

As soon as he started the engine, he looked at his friends and quirked a brow.

"Well?"

Neji crossed his arms and frowned. "How are we all going to fit in there?"

Shino shrugged. "Just pile in."

"No way."

"Geez. Would you rather leave the two alone at home?"

"No."

"Then get in."

Neji looked over at their Lead Knight.

"We can't afford to be late." Sasuke said. "We still have a fitting for our uniforms, have our ID pictures taken, and of course, club hunting."

"Looks like Eclipse has everything planned out."

"Hn." He raised his left arm as soon as he heard flapping sounds. "Itachi had the details sent." And a Peregrine falcon with dark-colored feathers made itself comfortable on Sasuke's arm.

"He gave you an animal Guardian?" Shikamaru cried.

"Aa." He took off the small scroll attached to its leg. "I just got his reply from my previous message."

"And..?" Neji asked, eyes not leaving the form of the animal.

"You're all tasked to search for your own Guardians that will fit your element." He said. "Anyway, I'll go on ahead."

"Wait, you're not coming with us?" Lee asked.

"There's something I have to take care of first." He glanced at the falcon. "Raiha."

The animal gave a short screech before taking off into the air, flying in circles above its master's head.

Sasuke nodded once to the rest before heading over to where his motorcycle was parked. He put on the helmet, afterwards, started the ignition, and soon, he was gone, his Guardian following him at a fast pace.

"Is it me or was that bird covered in lightning?" The blonde-haired shifter said.

"It's Sasuke's element; it helps the Guardian fly faster than normal." Shikamaru explained, afterwards, got inside Shino's car. "Now get inside you two."

"I still think this is a bad idea…"

"Oh come on Kiba!" The younger Shifter nudged his brother. "This should be fun."

"You've always been adventurous."

* * *

She felt embarrassed upon getting off of his bike which caught everyone's attention.

"You didn't have to pick me up…"

"Hn." He took the helmet from her and set it atop his motorbike's seat. "Consider it as a thank you from the porridge last night."

She nearly tripped when he mentioned that.

Sakura had been trying hard to forget about how he had licked off the rice from her finger, and how their gazes were locked for nearly five minutes. She didn't know whether to be thankful for whoever had called Sasuke in his mobile, or be annoyed that the moment was interrupted.

"_Shoot. He's already getting popular here, and students will start thinking he has a thing for me, or worse, that we're dating."_

"Hey."

She felt him poke her forehead.

"Come on."

A scowl was on her face as she rubbed the spot where he flicked her. "What you just did…" She mumbled. "Would be considered as an affectionate gesture..."

He quirked an amused brow. "Why is that?"

"Because people like gossip."

"And why would they gossip about you and me?"

"I came here with you."

"So?"

"…Ugh." She slapped her forehead and sighed. "Never mind. I need to go, thanks for the ride." She patted his black and blue Ducati bike, afterwards, took off.

He stared at her retreating figure before giving a small smirk and shaking his head, just as soon as his animal Guardian, Raiha, came swooping down to perch on his left shoulder.

* * *

"Stay." He seethed. "I mean it."

The two Shifters gave their best puppy dog eyes to Shino, but the Immortal didn't flinch or even budge.

"Oh fine." Kiba gave up and crossed his arms. "We'll stay and wait."

"And be sure not to pee inside the car."

"Just because we're Shifters doesn't exactly mean we're, like, dogs!"

"Pipe down Naruto." Shino hissed. "If I get back here and see even a single scratch or one thing out of place, you will both be dead."

With uncaring nods from the two, Shino slammed the door shut and turned to his fellow Knights.

"So, where's our boss?"

"Right here."

They turned to their Lead Knight who stopped walking when he reached a few feet away from them.

"Student Council room."

They nodded and followed him to where the room is located.

As they passed the many halls of Leaf Academy, they gained more attention from all year levels but chose to ignore it – save for Lee who grinned at the students.

In a few minutes, they reached the door which would lead to the SC's room, and with a knock, they slid it open and entered.

"You must be the new students, hang on we'll-" The blonde girl cut herself off once she set her sights on the five men. "Uh… are you sure you're in the right room?"

That got the five to give questioning looks.

"Well, I think you're looking for the art room, that's where the models g-" She got pushed to the side by Sakura who was flushing.

"I-Ino! Stop embarrassing the Student Council!" She huffed and faced Sasuke who blinked at her before giving a smirk. "Must you torment me?"

He shrugged. "I didn't know you were part of the Student Council."

She sighed and looked at Tenten whow as gawking at them.

"Oh, hey guys."

The three girls looked at Hinata who smiled and waved at the five as if she's known them her whole life.

"I forgot to mention," The usually timid girl said. "That one of them is my cousin, and that I've known them since I was still a child."

"Hinata!" Ino launched herself at the girl. "Why didn't you tell me you have such hot male friends?"

"Erm…"

Tenten pulled Ino off of Hinata. "Your reaction is enough reason."

"Oh like you weren't eyeballing them either!"

Sakura ignored the two arguing females with Hinata trying to pacify the two and turned to Sasuke once more.

"Okay, first thing's first; we get your uniform measurements, orient you guys about club activities and what each does, tour you around campus, take you to the clinic for check-ups, and then escort you to the Principal's office for a quick confirmation of schedules."

"The last two have already been taken care of." Sasuke said. "Principal Tsunade is an old friend of the family."

She blinked. "I see."

"Well who wants their measurements taken?" Ino yelled while holding onto a measuring tape. "I'm going to need you guys to remove your clothes for-"

"INO!"

"Alright, alright, sheesh."

Sakura apologized repeatedly at the five for her blonde friend's… enthusiasm.

"Anyway, uniforms." Hinata coughed, pulling out some samples for them to fit. "Neji-nii."

Neji nodded and walked over to his cousin, while the rest spread out to approach the other girls.

Shino immediately went to Ino, Shikamaru and Lee to Tenten, which leaves Sasuke to Sakura.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but…"

He smirked and pulled off his black dress shirt, leaving the grey one on.

"You still want me to take this off?"

She flushed and threw him the button-up shirt and coat of the school's uniform, causing him to give out a small laugh before putting them on.

Sakura mumbled a few words he couldn't decipher before she pulled the dress shirt on him and buttoned it up.

"What?"

She huffed. "You're too slow."

"Hn. Wouldn't want to wrinkle them."

"Yeah, yeah." She picked up the neck tie and had it around his neck, afterwards, tied it for him. "This one seems to fit you perfectly."

"Hn."

"Okay, coat."

He pulled the black coat on, stopping her hands from buttoning them.

"I'll end up undoing them in the end."

She frowned. "Dress code."

"You're not that strict."

"Oh fine." She sighed and brought up the slacks. "Uh… Forget these, you'll… well, uh…"

He smirked, afterwards, took it from her to check the size. "I'm starting to think you stalk me."

"Don't flatter yourself."

"How else would you know my size?"

"It's just coincidence!" She cried with a flushed face. "Anyway," She tugged his tie off. "As for clubs, we've got a lot available. You can choose from the sports variety, or maybe the newspaper club. We also have martial arts type, or maybe astronomy interests you, perhaps even music, or-"

"Student Council?"

"Yeah, that too and-" She stopped and looked up at him slowly. "What?"

He lifted a hand up to hold hers which were supposedly undoing the buttons of the white dress shirt. "I've already decided on the Student Council."

* * *

_**Apathetic Silence: **__This was supposed to be updated last week, but… my mistake, I sent the draft part, so my cousin wasn't able to do her task in editing or… proof-reading._

_**CrAzY-SiLLy-Me: **__I thought for sure you __**actually**__ wanted me to TYPE the whole chapter._

_**Apathetic Silence: **__So where are the character reviews for Shino, Sasuke, and Sakura?_

_**CrAzY-SiLLy-Me: **__Can I post it here? :D_

_**Apathetic Silence: **__…Fine._

_**CrAzY-SiLLy-Me: **__Yes! Okay guys, with Shino, Sasuke, and Sakura done, who is/are the next character/s you want info on? :D

* * *

__**WARNING! SPOILERS UP AHEAD!**_

_**Name:**__ Aburame Shino**  
Age:**__ 156 y/o (appears 19)**  
Race:**__ Vampire a.k.a. Immortal**  
Control Over:**__ Wind**  
Special Ability:**__ Forceful intrusion of the mind with just one look**  
**_

_**Description:**__ Shino dislikes Werewolves and easily loses his cool when it comes to his car. Though he listens to the higher ranking Vampires better than Neji, he almost always only listens to everything Sasuke says. However, there was one time wherein he didn't heed the young Uchiha's command in keeping his cool, because a group of teenaged Werewolves had wrecked his car, and that made his blood boil._

_Shino unexpectedly acts like a playboy - though subtle in flirting. He likes human cheerleaders (female of course), and has taken an interest to Ino._

_Besides Sasuke, Shino is the next feared Vampire when getting angry - for he kills with a smirk on his lips while proceeding with torturous ways of finishing off his victims and his sadistic nature._

_**Guardian:**__ Kazeku (Wasp)  
__**Specialty:**__ Transmit messages via Sound waves that only Shino can understand.**  
Obtained:**__ From his father  
The only insect among the guardian "pets"; the larger-than-normal cricket mostly does the spying for the team. Though tiny, Kazeku can make use of the breeze to move and act fast; it's more suitable for defense and information gathering in secrecy.**  
**__

* * *

_

_**Name:**__ Uchiha Sasuke**  
Age:**__ 155 y/o (appears 18-19)**  
Race:**__ Vampire a.k.a. Immortal**  
Control Over:**__ Lightning and Fire - both elements being closely related**  
Special Ability:**__ Copying skills of others, photographic memory_

_**Description:**__ The Lead Knight of the group. Sasuke is the youngest son of deceased Fugaku and Mikoto, and the only brother of Itachi. He is part of the Uchiha clan, a large family composing of pureblood Vampires. Even as a child, the Elders of Eclipse had been keeping an eye on him upon sensing the hidden power he has, a power they also felt from Itachi._

_Due to his aloof appearance, perfect control over his bloodlust, and being level-headed, Eclipse has chosen him to be the Lead Knight. Sasuke also posseses great strength and speed compared to the other Knights, and his stamina is close to Lee's, making him perfect for the role of Lead Knight. Though he says he isn't patient, no one really believes him, save for those who have felt his wrath. _

_Sasuke admits that he dislikes losing his temper because it makes him hurt people and/or non-human beings. He doesn't like killing Werewolves unless necesarry, and stands down from possible fights whenever others would try to start one with him. His best friends in the group are Neji and Shino, though he talks to Shikamaru about nearly everything._

_He is amused with Sakura after his first encounter with her, and also finds her scent calming, and her blood addicting. Sasuke later develops romantic feelings for Sakura, but chooses to keep it a secret while constantly reminding himself where his duty and responsibilities lay, as well as where his loyalties should be._

_**Guardian:**__ Raiha (Falcon)**  
**__**Specialty:**__ Speed and Attacks are like Lightning._  
_**Obtained:**__ From Itachi  
A lightning-endowed bird that is overprotective of its master, as well as loyal and obedient. Being a lightning-based guardian, Raiha is coated in lightning whenever it attacks in fast movements that can barely be followed by the naked eye.**  


* * *

**_

_**Name:**__ Haruno Sakura**  
Age:**__ 18**  
Race:**__ Human**  
Acitvity: **__Student Council President**  
Part-time Job/s: **__Maid during after school hours; takes care of kids in the daycare center on Sundays_

_**Description: **__Besides being the Student Council President, Sakura is also a workaholic. Being orphaned at a young age, she ended up striving hard to get to where she is, and to also support herself with the remaining savings/finance her parents had left her. According to her friends, Sakura is normally someone who doesn't entertain new students much besides telling them the basics, which is why Tenten and Ino were surprised that she was talkative around Sasuke._

_Despite being thought to be dating Sasuke, Sakura is still unsure of how she really feels for him. All she knows is that she cares for him and enjoys his company, even if he's silent most of the time._

_Things changed between them when he revealed to her who he truly is, and she ended up keeping her distance. Her parents were apparently killed by Rogue Vampires, which is why she hates the beings, and is experiencing emotional turmoil due to Sasuke being a creature she detests._

_It took a while before she warmed up to Sasuke's true self, and when she did, she found out that not all Vampires are as savage as the Rogues who killed her parents. Her feelings begin to grow clear as they return back to the way they were before she found out of his secret, and she ends up confessing to him on the day she actually let him drink her blood due to his weakened and thirsty state._


	3. State of Addiction

All eyes followed the baseball that went flying in the air, the batter earning himself a homerun due to the strong hit he just made.

Every student looked from the round object to the new student who tried-out for the school's baseball team.

"Whoo! That's the way to go!" A blond-haired boy yelled from the bleachers, getting excited from their Alpha's performance. "Alright Sasuke!"

Despite the cheers and murmurs, as well as the instant invites from the players and the Coach himself, Sasuke ignored them all and kept his eyes focused on the pink-haired SC President of Leaf Academy who was gaping.

Their eyes met, and he gave her a smirk which sent a couple of girls who were watching to squeal.

"You're definitely in!" Both the Captain and the Coach declared.

"No thanks." He said, removing his black baseball cap and baseball uniform, leaving him in only the grey shirt he usually wore. "I'm not really interested."

"B-But… Then why did you even tried out?"

"Sakura said it was standard procedure." He answered nonchalantly. "I'm actually aiming for the Student Council."

"That talent…" The Coach and Captain groaned. "Such a waste!"

He approached his companions who whistled in awe at the performance he had given.

"Bet they wouldn't be able to find that ball."

"I didn't hit it _too _hard." Sasuke said in defense, shrugging. "So, what's our next stop?"

Ino had to elbow Sakura to snap her out of her thoughts.

The girl immediately got up from her seat and scrambled through her belongings. She found the clipboard she was looking for and drew a line over the word: Baseball.

"Soccer club." She answered later on, and then began to lead the way, still baffled at what Sasuke just did.

* * *

**Immortal Sin**_**  
"**__**State of Addiction"

* * *

**_

"You know," he spoke up after wiping the sweat off of his forehead with a towel Hinata had passed out to them. "Things would be easier if you just let me join."

She frowned and scratched the word "Soccer" from her list.

"Having me visit every club in hopes of getting me interested in them won't work."

"I can try." She huffed.

"You can, but you won't succeed." He looked over at his other companions who also declined the Coach and Captain's invites – save for Lee who declared his enthusiasm to join. "I've already made up my mind."

Sakura looked up at Sasuke, cursing at how tall he was before looking back down at her list. "You've still got Chess, Archery, and Basketball to try."

"All three of which I'm not interested in."

"Give it a shot." She said. "It's-"

"Standard procedure, I know." He sighed. "Tell me, honestly, why won't you just let me join the Student Council?"

She gripped her pen tighter and bit her lower lip.

"You like me, don't you?"

"I do not!" She yelled, cheeks flushed, and he only gave her a smirk. "Not in _that _way at least." She huffed and turned her back to him.

"Then why can't you just let me join?"

"Because…" she mumbled incoherent words. "Because… I…"

Sasuke took notice of the audience he and his fellow Knights have caught the attention of, and upon seeing a few directed glares at his pink-haired friend, he kind of figured out what her reasons were.

"Well, it's protocol." She said yet again, refusing to state her real reason.

"Alright," he nodded once. "Protocol." He patted her head affectionately and gave a small smile at her confused expression. "I'll buy that for now."

The act alone sent his growing number of fans in a fit of envy, while the smile he directed made them whine.

Sakura can only hope they didn't assume _things_.

* * *

With Lee joining Soccer, Neji in Archery, Shino in Basketball, and Shikamaru in Chess, it would be easier to scout the school's perimeter.

The Knights had made a silent agreement to split up in terms of club membership in order to cover more ground and discover which students were Shifters, and which were Immortals who went out of line.

Sasuke originally intended to join the Baseball team, being the sport which most schools found popular, but that meant going to different schools and stadiums almost every month just for a game, and that sure didn't help. Besides that, none of them had sensed the presence of their own kind or of their natural enemy's within the team.

Lee opted for Soccer since a handful of Shifters were involved in the sport. When asked if he'll be okay, he simply gave a thumb's up to them, assuring them that he'll be fine.

Neji thought that Archery may help him sharpen his skills, feeling how rusty his accuracy had become. He also noted that the members were mostly freshmen and sophomore students, and that automatically meant he can get information from the younger batches.

Shino chose Basketball because he had identified a couple of young Immortals and teen-stage Shifters. Finding the need to intimidate both parties, he had given them a look to confirm if they knew who he was, and when the Immortals stiffened and gave a quick nod, he had smirked and turned to the Shifters who immediately flinched.

Lastly, Shikamaru had caught on to a few seniors of the Chess club which were Immortals about three hundred years old or older. He could learn a thing or two from them which he and his comrades may put to good use someday.

"I still don't get why you opted for the Student Council – there's always Music, Tennis, and hell, even Track."

The Lead Knight of the group simply lifted his head to look at Neji's questioning gaze.

"My cousin is a part of the SC, she can gain access to any information there, or of the students."

"Not all." He mumbled, leaning back on his seat in the classroom, the pair managing to keep their voices low. "She has the names and information of the students, that's true, but she isn't aware of their true race." He took a quick glance at the blackboard, his photographic memory instantly engraving the notes written in front into his brain. "Being an assistant to Sakura, I'm close to be called as the male representative of the Student Council, which gives me the privilege to talk to students about almost anything school-related."

"And knowing you, it'll only take a minute to know if the person is an Immortal or Shifter, no matter how skilled they are at hiding it."

"Aa." He sighed silently and looked outside the window, seeing Raiha perched on a tree's branch, the leaves hiding him from anyone else's view.

"That Yamanaka girl seems to think you have a… liking to the Haruno."

He gave a small smirk and closed his eyes. "Perhaps."

"Careful Sasuke, she's a human."

"I know, but I can't help her scent."

Neji almost fell out of his seat at that revelation. After making sure he had heard right, he turned to look at their group's leader, seeing Sasuke's eyes half-closed and shoulders slacked. "No way…"

Sasuke closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, catching the many smells of the students surrounding them but only one particular odor had made him clench his fists.

"When did this happen?"

He relaxed a bit before looking at Neji to answer his question. "Last night," he answered truthfully. "I got a bit too close."

"Is it enough to make you crave for… _blood_?"

"No." Sasuke shook his head. "Not yet at least."

"Yet?"

"I haven't tasted her blood, so I can still control myself." He leaned forward after placing his elbows on the table and intertwining his fingers. He pressed his forehead against his hands and breathed in once more. "I'm talking about her scent in general."

"…I see." Neji cleared his throat, his way of apologizing for making assumptions. "But be careful."

* * *

A week had passed, and Itachi had managed to convince his brother to get the other Knights to train the two Shifters, and to also aid the school for its upcoming festival.

Not like they had any other choice – now that they were part of some clubs and also in a class, whatever activity the club or class has planned, they're required to join them.

"So, any objections?" The class representative asked, using a stick in pointing at the blackboard where the names of the students were listed, and next to them were their jobs for the activity the class wanted to have.

"Yeah." Shikamaru raised his hand. "Why do we," he gestured at the other Knights. "Have to be the hosts?"

"Besides the fact that we've got fewer guys compared to girls, you're new students, and…" she fiddled with the stick as her cheeks turned red. "Well, the girls and I agreed to have you draw in the customers."

"I don't think I like the idea of having to dress up just to serve others some tea, cakes, or even… coffee." Neji commented, frowning slightly.

"Would you rather prepare them then?"

"…Hm. I'd rather we do something else."

"Oh come on, it'll be fun!" She clasped her hands together and gave a pleading look. The other girls did the same, including Tenten and Ino whilst Sakura and Hinata decided to stay out of it and just watched in amusement.

Since Kiba and Naruto were also enrolled due to Itachi's persistence, they immediately gave in. Lee raised a fist and accepted the task given to him, while Shikamaru yawned and uttered a _troublesome_. Neji just twitched and turned to Shino who pretended to have his own world since his sunglasses covered his eyes – anyone could think he was asleep. Sighing, the long-haired Knight looked to their leader as a last resort, but he almost fell off of his seat when he was listening to his mp3 played.

"At least pretend to care!" He grabbed Shino's necktie and Sasuke's iPod, earning the two male's attention.

"What?"

"Huh?"

Neji slapped a hand to his forehead and looked at Shino and Sasuke with an annoyed glance. "We're playing hosts for the school festival."

Shino eyed the blackboard and shrugged. "Fine with me."

So as a last resort, Neji looked at Sasuke who was staring at the words written on the board with a raised brow.

"Sounds fun."

"You don't do fun, Sasuke."

"I was being sarcastic." Sasuke grunted, before plugging back his earphones. "Whatever, I don't mind – it's for the class anyway."

"Geez. Five against two." Neji turned to Shikamaru. "Looks like we have no choice."

"Yeah, I could have hoped Shino and Sasuke would have tipped the scale to our favor."

The female variety cheered while the few remaining men were glad to be relieved from the duty of serving and instead, were satisfied with being the clean-up crew or errand boys.

"So besides Sakura who will be patrolling the school grounds, is anyone else unavailable to help out because of other activities?"

Once everything was settled, the meeting was done and the few students who volunteered to decorate stayed behind.

Among the fourteen students who remained, the seven Knights, Sakura, Hinata, Tenten, and four others proceeded to arrange the chairs and trim down a few decorative papers for hanging. Two of the seven girls discussed about the menu, while another two went off to talk the idea to their homeroom teacher in case she'd like to give some suggestions. Hinata and Tenten busied themselves in distributing the colored papers, whilst Naruto, Kiba, and Lee pushed and carried the tables and chairs to the sides.

Neji and Shikamaru ganged up on Shino for agreeing to their roles while cutting some crepe papers in various shapes, whereas Sakura walked over to Sasuke with a stack of colored papers and two pairs of scissors.

"I would have thought you'd refuse your role."

He smirked at her. "And disappoint the girls? Nah."

She furrowed her brows. "Not funny."

"Why? Jealous?"

She shoved him the stack of papers and glared.

"You do realize you didn't deny it."

"Ugh!" Sakura grabbed a piece of paper and cut it into different forms. "You're aggravating me!"

"Yes, I know." He followed suit, only in a much slower and careful pace. "Why do you think do I do it?"

She twitched and looked at Sasuke, annoyed at the smirk on his lips. "First, you joined the Student Council and became my assistant, now, you're pushing my buttons and enjoying it!"

"I have yet to do so, but if you think that way, then, alright."

"Why must you be so annoying?"

"I like getting you flustered?"

"..." She sighed heavily and slowed down her pace in cutting. "I don't get you, at all."

Sasuke stopped cutting and turned his attention to her.

"I mean… I… kind of thought of you as someone who acts cool, aloof, maybe even stoic. I expected you to be a bit more professional in everything - especially after that incident wherein I… well, stained your clothes with cafeteria food." She huffed once more and set the cut papers aside before picking up a new sheet to deform. "The way you handled the situation made me look forward to having you as a student here since you were a lot more mature than the rest of the people I've handled in Leaf Academy."

"Ah, that side of mine." He paused for a few seconds before setting down the papers he had cut. "You'd feel awkward around me, or perhaps intimidated."

"I think I can handle it better than this-" she waved her left hand which held a sheet of paper at him from top to bottom. "-side of yours."

He raised a brow at that, his lips parting slightly as if about to deliver a sentence or two, but he did not utter even a single word.

"So try me."

He shrugged his right shoulder and continued to cut a new set.

Sakura smiled a bit, assuming that his silence was the start of him showing the other side of his personality.

By the time they were done with half the stack of colored papers, she began to bite her lower lip and steal glances at him. His silence was a lot more unnerving than she thought.

Since she was facing him, she took a peek at him while her head was still lowered, her bangs managing to shadow her eyes in order to hide the fact that she was looking at Sasuke. From what she could see, his eyes were half-closed and his lips were in a straight line, albeit slightly curved downwards – not enough to be called a frown or a sad face, but she'd name his expression as "blank" for now.

Some parts of his bangs had fallen a bit from his movements in cutting, setting down papers, and picking a new sheet up.

Her right hand twitched a bit as she fought back to urge to brush his bangs away from his face and style it back to its usual look – which was normally parted above his left eye.

Raven strands which fell over his forehead made him look a lot more mysterious, and perhaps, dare she say… _appealing_.

"_Great – I'm having such thoughts again."_ She shook her head slightly, hoping that no one would question her for it.

As she proceeded to observe him, she noted how her eyes had stayed a bit longer on his dark-colored irises before lowering to the silver pendant around his neck. Her brows knitted together at the sight of his blue tie loosened a bit, and she swore Sasuke had the first button of his dress shirt undone.

"_Though it does suit him better that way."_ She mused. _"At least he won't look too stiff."_

She sighed inwardly at the sight of his black school blazer undone, but at least he still wore it – unlike the other male population of Leaf Academy.

Sakura decided to look back up at his face before her eyes wander any lower and send her mind thinking of _things_.

By the time her gaze remained on his face, she suddenly yelped at the feeling of sharp blades nipping at the lower part of her palm, just about an inch and a half below her thumb.

Since the room was silent, save for the hushed murmurs of some of the people inside, her cry echoed around the place's walls, causing everyone to turn to her.

* * *

The moment Sasuke had heard her voice hitch, his eyes immediately widened when the scent of blood invaded his nostrils. If that wasn't bad enough, some of it had splattered onto the left corner of his lips, and he ended up tasting a little bit of it.

He froze on his spot as he slowly lifted his gaze from the scissors and paper in his hands to Sakura's bleeding palm.

The familiar sight of crimson blood made his mind go blank, while his senses enhanced tenfold when the liquid dripped to her wrist before she placed a handkerchief over it to stop the blood from crawling down her arms where it could stain her uniform.

He could hear Tenten rush towards Sakura and ask if she was okay, and he could still sense how Kiba and Naruto had looked at her in alarm, whilst the rest of the Knights plus Hinata had stood frozen on their spot, refusing to raise their heads to confirm if what they smelled was true.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry Sasuke!"

He blinked a few times when Sakura's voice snapped him from his trance, and he was alarmed when her handkerchief had wiped the corner of his mouth where her blood had splattered.

It shouldn't have been possible, but given the distance they had with each other and how the sudden the scissors dug into her skin, the wound would have most likely hit any part of his face or neck, it was just his luck that it _had_ to be near his lips – where his tongue was inside, where it had tasted her _sweet_ type O blood.

"Get that treated." He almost snarled. "It could get infected."

She stared at him, taken aback by how his voice had sounded lower than normal, or how it seemed a bit monotonous.

Still, she had picked up the slight concerned tone his voice had, and she only gave a silent nod before being accompanied by Tenten to the clinic.

Neji instantly walked over to Sasuke upon noticing how their Lead Knight was unmoving, and how his eyes glinted dangerously at where Sakura once stood.

"You okay?"

Sasuke shifted his gaze to Neji's when he felt the older Immortal's hand touch his shoulder.

"No." He answered truthfully, shutting his eyes and placing a hand on his forehead, his fingers lifting some of his bangs away from his face. "I'm _fucking_ craving." He hissed.

Neji narrowed his eyes at this before dragging Sasuke out of the room and towards the bathroom.

Once inside the lavatory, Sasuke did not waste any second to switch on the faucet and splash water on his face, even going as far as gurgling.

His companion watched in silence, standing by the closed door in order to keep other students from coming in.

"Better?"

Sasuke set his palms onto the sink and slowly raised his head to look at his reflection.

While Vampires were known to have no reflections, Sasuke and the others did.

For one thing, Immortals weren't even Vampires, the latter term was just used by humans since they didn't have a name for them.

Immortals were just "supernatural" beings – entities that couldn't be considered human because of their enhanced senses, ability to control a specific element, and even their speed and strength that was beyond normal.

It was just unfortunate that their species needed blood from time to time like humans needed water, or babies needed milk.

Vampires don't have beating hearts, but Immortals do. Vampires perished under the sun but Immortals didn't. Vampires could die because of holy water or properties, but Immortals could withstand it.

Though the two creatures had some things in common, which was why people named them as such but their own kind had decided on the name of "Immortals" since they were harder to kill than humans, both were still entirely different.

Immortals could lose their lives if their hearts are crushed literally, or if they're decapitated - which was also another reason why people called them Vampires.

"No." He answered a few moments later. "Her blood is too…"

Neji gave a small smirk. "Addicting?"

Sasuke glared at Neji's reflection before cursing how he had almost lost control of himself. "I've never tasted anything so damn tempting." He clenched his fists. "Fuck this. I'm going home before I cause more damage."

"You haven't done anything yet Sasuke, though yes, I agree with you." He nodded. "I'll go back with you."

"No." He shook his head. "I can refrain from hurting anyone but I have to keep away from her until this craving ends." He paused before stepping back from the sink. "_If_ it stops, that is."

"You'll have to fight it." Neji said, opening the door for their group's leader. "Or else… well, you know."

"Aa." He closed his eyes and held his head. "Eclipse."

Neji nodded once. "Eclipse."

* * *

A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she trudged down the hallway. Her shoulder bag was safely strapped around her body while her small but deep wound was wrapped in a white bandage.

She lowered her head to look at it, recalling how Sasuke had acted when she got injured.

"_He could have at least waited for me."_ She scowled. _"And to think he was so confident in saying that he'd escort me to and from school everyday."_

Her feet brought her to the end of the hall where sets of stairs were located. One led to the floors above, while the other would be for the remaining floor below. She went down and stopped at the third step when she saw Sasuke.

His left arm leaned against the wall while his forehead was pressed onto it. His fists were clenched and from what she could see, his eyes were shut tight. She could even tell that he was sweating a bit, and this made her jog down the steps and grab his other arm.

"Sasuke are you al-" she got cut off when he instantly grabbed her arms and pinned her against the wall. "S-Sasuke?"

His nose and lips were near her neck, and she could feel his warm breath on her skin, and how heavy his pants were.

"Sasuke?" She hesitantly raised her arms and gripped onto the back of his uniform, as if pulling his body closer to hers. "You're warm." She whispered, feeling his head lower until his forehead touched her shoulder. "You're feverish."

She didn't make any move to push him away, and instead, remained perfectly still.

Sakura was just glad that she had stopped working at the café nearby in order to attend to her school duties – at least now, she didn't have to worry about being late.

* * *

As the minutes ticked by, her green irises diverted from the wall across her vision to the window on her right, the orange glow from outside signaled that the sun was already setting.

"_How long have we been standing here?"_ She asked herself, before glancing at Sasuke who had remained perfectly still. "Are you feeling better now?"

He suddenly pushed himself away from her and lowered his head, his bangs shielding his eyes from view.

"Hey, you're acting weird."

"You should go home." He turned his back to her and lifted a palm to his forehead. "I… I don't think I can take you back."

"It's you I'm more worried about Sasuke." She walked over to him and gripped the left sleeve of his jacket. "Tell me how you're feeling."

"Sick." He answered lowly. "Really, really sick…"

Her brows furrowed in worry, not knowing that he meant how he felt sick for even wanting to drink her blood and fulfill his craving.

* * *

Naruto watched as another empty pack was thrown to the trash bin.

"_Fifteen."_ He said in his head, counting the blood packs their Alpha had drunk. _"After fifteen type O blood packs, he's still craving…"_

He lifted his head from the sight of the trash can when he heard a loud curse escape their Alpha's lips.

"Fucking…"

Neji handed another type O blood pack. "Donor is around the same age as Sakura, same blood type, and the same gender."

Sasuke snatched the pack and ripped one corner of it so that he could easily down the contents.

Naruto was amazed at how Sasuke still remained clean despite his rushed way of drinking the crimson liquid.

"Well?"

Both Neji and Naruto looked towards the entrance of the kitchen where Shikamaru came in, holding onto plastic bags filled with fresh blood packs from the hospital a Society member ran. Kiba followed closely behind, also carrying two plastic bags filled with raw meat this time.

"Damn it." Sasuke threw the empty pack into the waste basket. _"Nothing_ is helping."

"So just take a sip of her blood." Kiba said with a shrug. "At least you get to satisfy your craving a bit, right?"

The three Immortals glared at him, and Naruto shook his head at his older brother from the pack. "Kiba, even if Sasuke's full right now, I doubt he could really pull back once he gets a taste of Sakura's blood."

From outside, they could hear lightning crack, followed by heavy raindrops.

"Um… is it possible that you're both doing this?" Shikamaru drawled, looking at Neji and Sasuke.

"Our anger doesn't control the weather but strengthens it."

Naruto yelped when he heard lightning crack three consecutive times. "Don't do that Sasuke..!"

The spiky-haired Immortal just grunted before getting up from his seat. He whistled at his falcon which was perched on one of the cupboards, and it flew to him and landed on his shoulder.

"I better sleep on this." He mumbled. "Otherwise, that lightning storm would only do more damage."

"While you're at it, get Neji and Shino to sleep too." Shikamaru yawned.

"Shino?" Naruto and Kiba echoed.

"He controls the wind – can't you hear it howling loudly outside?"

* * *

Fingers tightly clenched the pillow it held when lightning flashed near the window.

It was followed by a loud crackling sound, and then the continuous heavy rainfall and howling wind.

The lights were out that night, and Sakura had never been more afraid than now.

She may have been used to living alone after her parents' deaths, but having no electricity and with a storm occurring outside to boot, she won't be having any decent sleep tonight.

"_I hate this day."_ She curled up into a ball and tried to get some sleep, but even her tiresome day didn't aid her.

By the time the wind died down and the rain grew lighter, she managed a small smile and hoped that the lightning would stop too.

Unfortunately, it flashed and she braced herself for the loud crack that would follow.

"Oh for- agh!" She yelled and fell out of bed when she saw a seated figure on her window pane.

She could feel the cool wind enter her room, and she almost threw the lamp within her reach at the intruder if he had not spoken.

"Sorry – you weren't answering the door or your phone."

"What the- Sasuke! Are you out of your mind?" She picked up a flashlight and witched it on, directing the light to him as he closed the window and turned to face her. "Geez! You're drenched!" She rushed to her closet and threw him a towel. "Stay here, I'll go get you some clothes."

It took about a minute or so for her to return and hand him a shirt, boxers, and jogging pants. "My dad's old stuff," she answered his unasked question. "I'm just glad I didn't decide to sell them."

She immediately turned around when he removed his shirt in order to change into the dry clothes.

"I hope they fit."

"They do."

She took a glance, seeing him fully dressed.

"As you can see, the electricity's out, so I won't be able to- hey! What are you even doing here?"

He almost smirked at how late she had asked that.

"It's the middle of the night and you're supposed to be resting because you're not feeling well and- why are you smirking?"

He just shook his head and watched how she snatched his wet clothes and went inside her bathroom in order to hang them.

"I was feeling guilty for not taking you home."

Sakura almost tripped on her way back to him. "That's it? You went here and got yourself soaked because of that?"

"It's not a big deal for me." He shrugged. "But not keeping my word is."

"Sasuke," she sighed. "Geez. You're… you're just…"

"Hopeless?" He supplied.

"Well, yeah."

"That, I am." He took a step forward, and she took a step back, freezing when her back hit a wall. She raised her head to meet his gaze, unsure how to react when he pushed some strands of her hair away from her face. "Hopelessly…" he leaned down and tilted his head to the side. "…Addicted…" his lips stopped near her ear. "…to you."

* * *

_**Apathetic Silence: **__Cousin's not here right now, but she did send me the character reviews for Neji and Hinata. Anyway, as mentioned in the story, YES, they're not EXACTLY vampires. Same goes for Shifters and Werewolves, but that will be explained in later, if not the next, chapters. So now I can get rid of the whole "vampire" term unless spoken by a human's point of view._

_**Name:**__ Hyuuga Neji_

_**Age:**__ 156 y/o (appears 18-19)_

_**Race:**__ Immortal_

_**Control Over:**__ Water; also includes ice_

_**Special Ability:**__ See through solid objects, 360 degree vision_

_**Description: **__Hiashi's nephew, Hinata and Hanabi's cousin. _

_Neji is one of Sasuke's best friends, and is also very protective and loyal to the clan of Immortals. He detests Shifters, and always reminds his fellow Knights not to get too close to humans - especially Sasuke and Shino._

_After entering Leaf Academy, he noticed the change in Sasuke, and keeps a close eye on him since he found out how the Lead Knight was falling for Sakura._

_Compared to Sasuke, he is a lot more impatient and would not hesitate to get into a fight with a Shifter even with the simplest reason (like when a Shifter student had bumped Sasuke). Whenever he's in a bad mood or feeling the need to kill their kind's nemesis, Sasuke is the only one who can get him to calm down, or to stop whatever recklessness he's doing._

_Neji's hatred for Shifters makes him unable to accept Naruto and Kiba wholeheartedly into their group, even if Itachi or some members of Eclipse had already said it was okay. He only partially agreed to it when Sasuke had told them to accept the two._

_**Guardian:**__ Mizuro (Salamander)_

_**Obtained:**__ Through Raiha's help_

_An animal that specializes in water; Mizuro prefers to remain near or in the water, but can live on land. Its skills aren't meant for attacking, but rather, for supporting, given how it can spit a jet of water out from its mouth and even form the liquid to ice._

_**Specialty:**__ Freezing a target._

_***SPOILER ALERT***_

_**Name:**__ Hyuuga Hinata_

_**Age:**__ 154 y/o (appears 17-18)_

_**Race:**__ Immortal_

_**Control Over:**__ Water; also includes ice_

_**Special Ability:**__ Foresee what could happen (A/N: My cousin said that putting "future" would mean it's inevitable, so instead, she opted for "what could happen")_

_**Description: **__Neji's cousin and next in line to lead Lunar (a group of Immortals from the Hyuuga race due to their ability to foresee or having 360 degree vision), eldest daughter of Hiashi, older sister to Hanabi. _

_Hinata is a shy and quiet girl who has a soft spot for humans and Shifters. Her father sees this side of her as a sign of weakness and had once attempted to lock the girl up in her quarters just to rid of those unwanted feelings that aren't fitting for an Immortal of her status. However, the elders of Eclipse had considered this side of Hinata's as a good way to prevent any of their kind from breaking the rules related to humans, and also thinks that this will aid them in knowing the weaknesses of Shifters._

_Hinata, after having grown close to Naruto, develops romantic feelings for the Shifter, and this enrages her cousin, Neji, who holds a deep sense of hatred and loathing towards their enemies. Though having Hanabi, she is a lot closer to Sasuke and feels that he is much more suited to be called her sibling._

_She is part of the Student Council in Leaf Academy, holding the position as the Secretary._


	4. Pieces of a Puzzle

"This can't be good."

Naruto blinked and turned towards Shikamaru, wondering what he meant.

"Where is he?"

"Uh… who?" Shikamaru asked, playing dumb while standing next to Naruto. "There are a lot of us here, all guys too, so you'll have to be a little more speci-"

"YOU KNOW WHO I'M LOOKING FOR!"

Naruto flinched; he didn't think an elderly Immortal would have that kind of voice.

"Sheesh, calm down, I'm just making sure." Shikamaru sighed. "He stepped out."

"Where?"

"I don't know, he said he was going to call it a night, and then later on, he just left his room and left this place without saying anything."

"His Guardian, where is it?"

Shikamaru snorted, and Naruto gulped when the elder Immortal had glared.

"Guardians follow their masters; I do believe you KNOW that."

"He almost attacked a human."

"I am aware of that." Shikamaru mumbled, yawning. "The keyword there is almost, so he didn't do any harm to that person."

"That person he almost attacked may recover from her loss." He seethed. "Sasuke knows her!"

Shikamaru blinked confusingly. "Uh… yeah, we all know her. But what do you mean by loss?"

The elder Immortal gritted his teeth before looking down. "He was the one who… her… from those…"

Naruto looked from the elder who suddenly grew silent, to Shikamaru who now had widened eyes. "I'll get Shino to look for him."

* * *

**Immortal Sin****  
"**_**Pieces of a Puzzle"

* * *

**_

The silence between them didn't bother her much, but that was mostly thanks to the storm occurring outside.

It had grown much more violent now.

"You can sleep you know?"

She almost jumped when he suddenly spoke.

"It's not like I'd touch you or anything."

Her cheeks flushed, and she was grateful that the power was still out, otherwise, he would have seen her blush.

"After what you just did earlier, I don't think I'll be able to sleep." She grumbled, crossing her arms as she recalled how close he was to her ear, and how he remained that way for a good five minutes or so before pulling away and laughing.

"Couldn't help it…"

She sighed heavily at this before leaning against the couch. After what he did, she had decided to stay at the living room, feeling too conscious being alone with him in her room.

"But seriously," she murmured. "Why did you come here? You could have just… well, talked to me in school tomorrow, and aren't you sick?"

"I'm fine." He answered. "I got a good amount of sleep to get rid of the slight fever, and… well, not keeping my promise is bothering me."

"Sasuke, what's done is done, how are you even going to make up for it anyway?"

He smirked lightly. "Aren't you afraid of thunderstorms?"

She flushed. "N-No I- wait, how did _you_ know that? Are you stalking me?"

"Maybe?" He grinned. "It's just obvious how you were too jumpy."

Sakura was about to retort, but loud knocks interrupted her, causing her to yelp at the sudden sound.

"Guess they've found me."

"Huh?" She blinked. "You're hiding?"

He shrugged his left shoulder before getting up to answer the door, ignoring how Sakura commented that this was her house and that she should be the one to answer the door.

"That was fast, Shino."

Despite his shades hiding his eyes, his furrowed brows made Sasuke know that he was glaring.

"Guess who's looking for you back home."

He gave a sheepish smile. "Why else did I leave?"

"Get your ass back there, now."

"Meh…" he leaned against the door frame lazily. "I don't want to."

"Sasuke, I'm serious, stop joking right now."

He sighed and looked at Shino at the corner of his eyes. "What does he want?"

"It's…" he trailed off when he spotted Sakura approaching them. "This afternoon's event."

"Hn." He looked over at Sakura who stopped upon reaching them. "I'll return these clothes and get back mine tomorrow, if that's okay with you."

"Uh… sure." She nodded once. "So, you're heading back home, right?"

"Why? Gonna miss me?"

She pushed him out of the door. "No." And closed it.

"Harsh." He laughed slightly as the rain poured down on him and Shino. "Well, let's get going."

"Yeah – before Neji starts to flood this town."

* * *

The weather seemed to grow worse that morning, though Sakura wasn't really paying much attention to it since she wasn't able to get any sleep last night. Without suppressing her yawn, she poured herself a cup of freshly brewed coffee, not bothering to add cream or sugar since she'd really need to stay awake today.

After finishing one of the two slices of buttered toasts, she drank her coffee slowly, afterwards, nibbled onto a single strip of bacon, before dipping the other toast onto the yolk of her sunny-side up egg. She sighed contently at the meal, finishing up eight minutes later. After washing the used utensils, she grabbed an apple from the refrigerator in case she wouldn't be able to eat a proper lunch again and picked up her bag as well as a small bag where Sasuke's clothes were, then left her home.

Half-expecting what would happen, she merely looked to the dark skies, wondering if the rain would suddenly pour.

"I'm taking you home this time, I swear."

She looked back at the figure leaning against a midnight blue sports car, before sighing and walking towards him.

"Wouldn't you rather stay home and sleep?"

Her head shook from left to right as he opened the passenger door to let her in, afterwards, he closed it and went to the driver's side.

"No bike today?"

He almost laughed. "It might rain later, so using my bike wouldn't be a good idea."

"Got that right…" she mumbled, and then handed him the paper bag containing his clothes. He nodded his thanks and had it at the backseat, along with the ones she had made him change into last night.

He then started the engine and pulled out of her driveway. "You're a completely a different person when you lack sleep – or didn't."

"Latter." She yawned. "Damn thunderstorm."

"Sorry."

She looked at him with sleepy eyes, though she noted how his eyes widened for a second before returning back to normal.

"I was supposed to stay with you, remember?" He added.

"That would have only kept me awake."

He smirked slightly. "But you'll eventually fall asleep, knowing you're not alone."

She didn't bother to say how right he was.

"It's still a little early, you can doze off for a while and I'll drive slowly."

Too sleepy to put up an argument, she complied and laid back, her eyes about to close but she saw something on his side view mirror, causing her to sit up all of a sudden.

"What's wrong?"

"I… I think I just…" she stared at the mirror for a good amount of time before sighing. "Never mind, I probably just imagined it."

Sasuke glanced at her, seeing how she bit her lower lip while keeping her head turned to the window, hoping to hide her expression from him, but he could clearly see her reflection, no matter how faded it seemed.

"Get some sleep." He told her in a soft voice, at the same time, looked at the rear view mirror to check if he'd spot what Sakura had seen. His grip on the steering wheel tightened when he saw a humanoid form of a Shifter tailing behind them at a good enough distance. "I'll wake you up when we get there."

When she closed her eyes, he turned to another route, where there were a lot of people walking around. He noted how the Shifter had stopped at the corner of the street, how it barred it fangs, before being struck by a falcon on its eye. It yelped and shifted to its wolf form before taking off in order to remain out of sight. Sasuke gave a relieved sigh and looked towards the darkening skies – smirking slightly at Raiha who still kept up with the speed of the car despite the attack he did on the Shifter.

"_I really ought to thank Itachi for giving you to me."

* * *

_

The moment they stepped out of the car, raindrops began to pour. Though it was light, Sasuke couldn't help but smirk slightly at the thought that it might grow worse.

"Damn it..!"

He locked his car, removed his school's blazer and pulled Sakura closer to him.

"Sasuke, what-"

He lifted the jacket up to cover the two of them just in time as the rain grew heavier, the clothing providing shelter mostly to her, before giving her a small smile. "Shall we?"

Sakura felt her cheeks grow warm that she just lowered her gaze and gave a small nod.

"Well, it would help if you hold onto me so that I can properly cover the two of us."

"Y-Yeah…" she gripped onto his white dress shirt and soon started to walk at the same pace as he did. "I really hate this weather."

"Aren't you glad it's not a thunderstorm?"

"That's an optimistic way to look at it…" and she yelped when the wind blew, causing her skirt to lift up a few inches. She quickly lowered her hands to hold the hem down, her face extremely red when Sasuke laughed. "I don't know if I prefer lightning over wind!"

And when the wind blew once more, Sasuke's grip loosened, causing the rain to fall heavily on them.

"Huh… wind, lightning, or rain..?" He asked with a small grin, his bangs sticking to his face and falling over his eyes, making it harder for Sakura to get a clear view of his onyx orbs. "I guess it's no use to cover up anymore…" he held onto her arm and broke into a sprint, making Sakura almost stumble on the first step before regaining her balance and running alongside him. She was just glad their school's jacket was black, and that she chose to leave it on, otherwise, her bra would've been seen.

By the time they arrived at the entrance doors of the school, the students around them had looked their way – some shaking their heads, some laughing and commenting how unlucky they were for getting caught in the downpour, while some just gave sympathetic looks before walking away.

"Shoot. We're completely soaked."

"Aa."

They headed for their lockers which weren't too far apart from each other.

Sasuke opened his and pulled out his backpack which held his school supplies for the day, inwardly relieved that he had picked up the habit of stuffing a shirt inside all of his bags from his brother. He temporarily dumped his wet jacket inside the locker and tugged off his tie before hearing Sakura mumble something under her breath.

"Crap. I forgot – my gym clothes are still in the wash."

In normal circumstances, he would have snorted or commented on how that sucked, but he found himself sighing silently and tossing his shirt to her.

"What the-"

"I still have my clothes you kept last night." He simply said, before closing his locker after taking back his jacket. "Watch my stuff for me." And he ran down the corridor without waiting for any reply from her.

Sakura stared off at where he went, absent mindedly taking the black shirt he was supposed to change into.

"Whoa, Sakura, I thought Sasuke was picking you up?"

She blinked before turning around to see Shino and the rest, all eyeing her from top to bottom.

"Um… he did, but when we got here, the rain just poured all of a sudden."

Naruto's nose twitched a bit. "Hey, your shirt smells like Sasuke's."

"Oh, it's his." She murmured, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "He lent it to me."

"Figures." Neji snorted. "Where is he now?"

"He went back to his car to get his clothes from last night."

"Ah, those." Shino smirked lightly. "He could've just brought it with him earlier to save the trouble."

"I forgot I didn't have a spare." Sakura huffed. "But before I could tell him it wasn't necessary, he suddenly bolted. I could have just borrowed Ino's…"

They heard approaching footsteps and a few cat calls from the female students. The group, plus Sakura, looked towards the source to see Sasuke with a scowl on his face when some of the girls had stared long and hard at him.

"What? Never seen a guy soaked from head to toe before?" He almost snapped at a student who commented at how the atmosphere grew hot. "Ch."

"Someone's in a sour mood." Shikamaru joked with a lazy grin. "Getting tired of being undressed with their eyes?"

"Feh. Why don't you find out to see how I feel?" He set the small bag down which contained his clothes from yesterday.

"Sasuke, you know… the Student Council has spare uniforms we could borrow…"

He blinked and twitched. "I forgot about that."

"Hey, it's better to be safe than sorry, right?" Kiba said with a chuckle. "Anyway, you two better change soon or you might catch a cold."

Sasuke threw Shino and Neji a small glare before grabbing Sakura's hand and taking her to the clinic to borrow some towels.

"Guess he found out." Shino mumbled.

"So you were the cause of the wind from earlier, huh?" Lee laughed. "But Neji, did you really have to make it rain when they got here?"

"Hey, he wants to get closer to her right?"

"Or you're just pissing off Eclipse."

"That too."

* * *

She felt awkward being alone in the clinic with Sasuke, and the fact that they were still both wet didn't ease her mind at all.

"Here."

Sakura almost jumped when he spoke, but then thanked him for the towel he passed to her. She looked at the soft fabric for a few seconds, her thoughts going back to last night's incident when he had suddenly barged into her room.

"Geez." She blinked when Sasuke took the towel from her and set it atop her head, afterwards, started to dry her hair off for her. "Are you planning on getting sick?"

"I-I can… well, you were sick yesterday!" She countered, grabbing his hands to stop his actions before peering from beneath the towel. "And besides… it's your fault…"

He lowered his gaze in order to meet her eyes, staring at how her lips were in a pout, how red her cheeks were, and how slightly furrowed her brows were.

"Don't do that…"

"Huh?" She blinked, and her eyes widened when he leaned down and touched her forehead with hers.

"Damn it." He breathed while shutting his eyes. "Do you have any idea how tempting you are right now..?"

"W-what?"

"Ch." He pulled back and lowered the towel in order to cover her face. "Why do you have to be so… _cute…_?"

"E-eh?" She flushed a deeper shade of red, thankful that the cloth prevented him from seeing her blush.

"Even… even before…" he whispered, though she couldn't hear it. "…as a kid…"

"Sorry, what?" She pulled the towel away from her face to see him looking at the ground, his cheeks also a shade of red. "Sasuke?"

"I… I'm sorry, I…" he sighed and turned away from her. "Just get changed. I won't look."

"…You better not." She mumbled, before hastily removing her tie and button-up shirt in order to wear the clothing he lent her. "Though this is against the school rules, we don't have a choice… but the minute our uniforms are dry we-"

"I know." He cut her off and removed his shirt, causing her face to turn red.

"At least wait for me to step out!"

He quirked a brow at her when he turned around, giving her a good view of his chest and abs. "I don't have anything to hide Sakura."

"Y-Yeah b-but… but..!" She just turned her back to him. "Oh just change already!"

He couldn't help the small smirk tug on his lips, before he dried off and put on some fresh clothes. "I guess you'll have to borrow a skirt from the girls then."

"Yeah." She answered in a soft voice, lifting a hand to hold onto her head.

"Headache?"

She gave a short nod before closing her eyes, surprised that she didn't react when he pulled her back to him, his arms around her shoulders.

"Why don't you just get some sleep here?"

"I'm a scholar, Sasuke..." She murmured, though she was starting to give in to her drowsiness when she felt comfortable in his arms. "I... have to..."

He didn't stop himself from smiling when she dozed off, and he lifted her in his arms and set her on one of the vacant beds of the clinic. He looked towards her skirt, socks, and footwear, before sighing and removing her boots. He pulled off her socks as well and hung them on a nearby hamper.

Sasuke took his phone out and called Hinata, telling her to head to the clinic and to bring with her an extra pair of shorts, or perhaps a skirt for Sakura.

As he waited for his "little sister" to arrive, he looked over at Sakura's sleeping face and lifted a hand to brush some of the pink strands on her cheek. The act caused her to lie on her side while she curled up, her face snuggling onto the pillow she lay her head on, giving a contented sigh before falling silent once again.

"_The things I do for you..."_ he thought to himself, before looking over at the door when it opened and revealed Hinata with the clothing he had asked her to bring. "I'll go on ahead to class then."

She nodded, smiling when Sasuke passed by. "Ne, Sasuke-nii, you like her a lot."

"...What did you see?"

Hinata glanced at him over her shoulder. "Just that she'll be safer if you stay close."

"...I can't do that."

"Can't or won't?" Hinata walked over to Sakura. "They're two different things."

"...Eclipse won't allow it, so I can't do it."

"When did you listen to them?"

"Since..." his eyes half-closed. "...Since they found out who she is."

"How did they? We've kept that a secret." Hinata pulled off Sakura's skirt and replaced it with a new and dry one, afterwards, pulled the blanket over her sleeping form. "Your parents made sure that attack remained a secret. You made sure Sakura didn't remember everything."

"Sakura knows it was an Immortal who killed her parents." He explained. "She just... hates our kind."

"She may hate us," Hinata breathed. "But she can't hate you."

He lowered his head. "How could she not?"

"Why did you allow them to make her forget those memories, Sasuke-nii?" She asked. "She was happy having you around."

"She was in danger having me next to her."

"...Shifters?"

"Aa." He closed his eyes. "Another one just tried to track us down earlier."

"...You didn't make her forget again, right?"

"No." Sasuke looked at Hinata. "I won't be able to live through that. Not anymore, not when..." he trailed off and sighed. "Not when they're after her..."

"So why won't you tell her?"

"Because..." he closed his eyes. "I'm still..."

Hinata gave a small smile. "You still care for her."

"...Aa."

"Then... her calling you 'nii-chan' in the past must have hurt you."

"Somewhat." He sighed. "I didn't want her to get too close to me, I didn't want her to... depend on me."

"You felt responsible for her because you weren't able to stop those rogue Immortals from killing her parents."

"I felt guilty."

"And now..." Hinata smiled and face her brother figure. "You've fallen in love with someone you shouldn't have – you're in love with Sakura."

"I... know you're not supposed to say anything, but at least let me know if... if what I'm doing, if keeping my distance, will keep her safe."

Hinata gave a sad smile. "I'll be honest with you, Sasuke-nii, what you're about to do will only do more harm. I suggest you stay and remain close to her, and it's okay..." she walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay if you fall only more, it might end up doing more good than what Eclipse thinks."

"They said it would only endanger us."

"They're wrong then."

"Why won't you tell them that?"

"They won't believe me." She shook her head. "Not when I have a soft spot for humans and Shifters."

"...What's wrong with that?"

"Sasuke-nii," she laughed softly. "You and I are the only Immortals who can understand each other regarding that, I mean, even Neji-nii and Shino won't get it." She walked towards the door. "Why else do you think most of Eclipse's members chose you to be the Lead Knight?"

"Hn."

"...How's... Ryo?"

He gave a small smile. "Energetic as ever."

"Does he know?"

"Not yet," he shook his head. "I'm... waiting for the right time to tell him the truth."

"Don't let him get too close to you until he accepts your true form." Hinata warned. "He's starting to see you as his older brother – much like how Sakura once did."

"...Aa."

Hinata gave a sad smile at him. "Don't be too hard on yourself Sasuke-nii, don't always shoulder everything." She slid the door open. "And... it would be better if you stay here with Sakura."

"...Okay."

"I'll explain to our teacher of your absence, and Sakura's."

As soon as Hinata left, Sasuke looked back at Sakura and walked towards her, grabbing a chair and setting it next to her bed, afterwards, sat down and leaned forward, his arms folding over on the mattress. He laid his forehead on his arms and sighed, his eyes closing while his mind went back in time, reminiscing the past, of when his parents were still alive and well, of when he had hunted down the rogue Immortals that had killed off two civilians – Sakura's parents.

"I'm sorry..." he murmured. "I should have moved faster... I could have saved them..."

"...ke...nii..."

He lifted his head to look at Sakura, seeing her brows furrowed.

"Who... they..."

His gaze softened as he placed a hand on her forehead and brushed off her bangs.

"...You can still remember that..." he mumbled.

He remembered being told by Eclipse to cut off his ties with the eight-year old Sakura, remembered that her calling him brother was already too much. They had sensed his fondness for her, and they didn't want the candidate for Lead Knight to have a soft spot for a human, a child none the less.

Sakura had witnessed the way Eclipse snarled at him, at how they barred their fangs, and he remembered how she clung to his leg and shook with fear, asking him who they were and why they were there.

She was terrified of his kind, and he couldn't blame her – she did witness how her parents died, and how the rogue Immortals almost came at her had it not been for his arrival. She didn't see him show signs of being one, since he killed the Immortals with the use of a sword to decapitate their head.

Sure she was traumatized by the whole incident, but he helped her cope, tried to make her live a normal childhood, and he was proud of his accomplishment when she started smiling and laughing once again, when she called him "nii-chan" whenever he picked her up from her school.

Eclipse just had to sense his attachment, and he was forced to cut off her ties with her when one of the elders had made Sakura forget about everything and only made her recall how her parents died. They didn't even let her remember who had saved her from the rogues and implanted false memories of her surviving the fire when the gas stove had exploded.

He stayed with her that night when she fell asleep, asking the elders to at least let him stay until daybreak, and when he was granted that wish, he didn't dare keep his eyes anywhere else but at her. By the time she stirred and woke up, he was gone. He and the chosen Knights who would serve under him were sent to continue their training and studies in another country, to make him forget about her.

When his brother became a part of Eclipse, he had made them come back, and somehow, Itachi just knew that his little brother didn't forget about Sakura, maybe a bit, but not entirely.

"_Idiot."_ He thought with a smirk, recalling the meeting last night with Eclipse, and how Itachi confessed that he knew Sakura studied at Leaf Academy, which was why he wanted them to transfer here.

_While it's true that there are a lot of Shifters here, the main reason I want them to study at Leaf Academy is because of Sakura. Sasuke is old enough to decide for himself, and I doubt his interaction with her would endanger us._

The words his brother said had silenced Eclipse, so the elders left him with a warning of being responsible for his actions.

"...Sasuke?"

He blinked and turned his gaze to Sakura who had her eyes opened half-way.

"...nii-chan..."

His own eyes widened at what she said.

"...You were..." she looked elsewhere. "...I called you nii-chan."

"Sakura..."

"Eh... sorry." She flushed and sat up. "I... I had a weird dream, sorry."

He didn't know if he would sigh in relief, or be disappointed.

"Really strange..." She mumbled. "I dreamt you were... there when my parents were killed, you saved me... or something... and..." she shook her head. "Some old men came and... ugh. I really need more sleep."

He just watched as she yawned and looked at the time.

"Oh shit! We missed three classes already!"

"..." he let out a deep and tired sigh before smiling a bit. "You're really... annoying."

"Hm?"

He stood up and leaned towards her, his forehead touching as hers, causing her face to turn red. She looked at his closed eyes and the small smile on his lips, and her heart thumped faster and louder.

"Do you mind if I... stay this time?"

"Huh?"

"Is it okay if I just... stay close to you?"

"...Sasuke, I think you're a lot closer already."

"Aa..." he raised his right hand and placed it on the back of her head. "Just... not close enough."

For a split second, she thought he would kiss her, but instead, he pulled back and turned to pick up their bags.

"Come on, you do want to at least eat, right?"

Her growling stomach only caused her cheeks to blush once more.


	5. Conflicting Feelings

Her head moved forward slightly as she felt a lump on her throat form before going all the way down when she swallowed. Her cheeks were so warm that she could feel the heat radiating from it without having to touch them with her fingers. Her mouth fell open when her eyes gazed into dark endless pools of onyx, and she couldn't hold back the squeal when she saw a smile on the man's lips.

"Would you like some more tea, milady?"

A vigorous nod answered his question, and he poured the hot liquid into her cup after lifting the porcelain item and setting it back down gently once it was filled with the caffeinated beverage.

"Please enjoy." He gave a small bow before taking his leave and turning to the next table where three girls waited, their eyes sparkling as he arrived at their table and threw in another heart-stopping smile. "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting," he once again bowed down a bit, a few strands of his raven hair falling along, while the rest remained spiked at the back. "Would you like to order now?"

From the corner of the room, two pairs of eyes watched in amazement at the exchange.

"I can't believe Sakura is missing out on this." Ino huffed, her arms crossing as she pouted. "It's not everyday the new guys act like this."

"Well, she has her duties as Student Council President, and I think she would have preferred that than stay here and see Sasuke waiting on a bunch of ladies." Tenten grinned. "Though I'd have to admit, he's the one who has been luring in the customers."

Ino snickered. "If Naruto and Kiba weren't too clumsy or flirty, respectively, they would be as popular as Sasuke." She turned to the blond and brunette, seeing Naruto apologize at one girl whom he had spilled sugar on. His puppy-dog eyes won his customers though, for they still had hearts in their eyes as they kept cooing that it was alright.

"Where the heck did Kiba pick up such lines anyway?" Tenten asked with a raised brow as she watched Kiba smiling, smirking, and giving sly grins at blushing females who were too nervous to speak or respond, though the smiles and giggles were signs that they enjoyed it.

"Don't get me started with Shikamaru, Shino, Neji, and Lee." Ino muttered with a glare. "Shikamaru's too lazy that he doesn't even bother to be polite or serve properly."

"Yeah well, his butler outfit makes up for it, and hey, he actually looks cool with his hair down."

"It's just too bad we couldn't do anything about Lee and Neji's hair." Ino sighed. "Speaking of Lee, well, if he wasn't too hyper, he would have done a good job too. Shino's geled down hair makes up for his too... unfeeling tones, though his lines and actions are good."

"Neji too, he needs a bit more emotion, and he needs to smile too."

"So, hands down, Sasuke."

"Yep. It's Sasuke." Tenten nodded. "If I didn't know better, I'd say he actually enjoys it."

* * *

**Immortal Sin**

**"****Conflicting Feelings"**

* * *

He sighed as he sat down on a chair behind the dividers that gave the make-shift kitchen of the room some privacy, hiding how the food and drinks were prepared from the many female customers and a select few males.

"Working hard?"

He opened his eyes to look at Hinata offering him a glass of water, and he nodded his thanks and took it, afterwards, handed the glass back to her. "I don't think I can put up with this job for a week."

Hinata laughed and turned to the rest of the kitchen crew who also giggled at their classmate's words.

"Too bad Sasuke, you're the sought after host in our make-shift cafe." A girl said as she finished preparing the mango crepe a customer ordered. "Perhaps if Shino, Neji, and Shikamaru are like you, then you can probably take more breaks instead of just one."

"I told them to act like a host, but they just won't listen." He scratched the back of his head, messing up his hair a bit as his bangs fell into place.

"Ahh..! Sasuke! That took me hours to fix!" Another girl exclaimed when she saw his hair back to its original style.

"Which I still don't get." He murmured. "It's just my bangs you fixed."

"Boys..." she rolled her eyes. "You men will never understand the time us women devote to looking good." She paused and eyed Sasuke. "Well, with your looks, it's not like you'd need time to prepare anyway."

He ended up smirking and shaking his head. "How long before closing time?"

Hinata checked her watch. "Two hours or less."

"We might have to extend though," Ino said, coming in. "You should see the line outside!" And she grinned at Sasuke's scowl. "And it's all thanks to you mister 'I'm-so-cute-and-irresistable'..!"

"...What?"

"Did you prefer what your new fans call you?" She snickered. "Sasu-Chiha."

"Ch." He grunted, tugging at his collar and loosening the black ribbon. "Damn this outfit..."

"Too warm, huh?" Hinata asked with a small smile, seeing her "brother" slightly sweaty. "Ino, do they really need to wear the coat?"

"Of course!"

"Even the vest?"

"Yes!"

Hinata gave an apologetic smile to Sasuke who just sighed and stood up. "Back to work then..." he pulled his white gloves back on and ran a hand through his hair, flicking his bangs back and leaving a select few shorter strands to hang over his face. "Will this do?" He asked his female classmate who made a big fuss over his hair.

She gave him a thumb's up. "Perfect."

"Now go get 'em Sasu-Chiha!" Ino patted.

"...I have a name." He grunted. "Use it."

"But that wouldn't be fun." She laughed, watching as he walked back out in the open to entertain more customers.

"Er... Ino, didn't we put up a sign about... homosexuals?"

Ino gave an all too innocent smile. "Did we?"

Hinata paled and looked at the pair of customers whom Sasuke was currently entertaining. Her keen eyesight caught the lump on the two tall females' throats, and also noted how their build was larger than most women. "I-Ino!"

"Well, looks like Sasuke also has fanboys now."

Hinata could only cover her face when she saw one of the two _men_ slap her brother's ass when he turned to get their orders.

If Sasuke didn't have any self-control, that guy would have been dead by now.

* * *

"How's it going over there?" She asked through her walkie-talkie.

"Why don't you come over and see? I can always replace you!"

"No way Ten, this is my job."

"...You're only avoiding him!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sakura..!" Tenten hissed on the other line. "Come _on_. It's not like he harassed you! Hell, he didn't even touch you!"

"...He was too close for comfort..."

"You still go to and from school with him."

"Because Naruto and Kiba hitch a ride with him now."

"That was two days ago Sakura!" Tenten sighed. "What happened anyway? After the whole incident in the clinic, you two were a lot closer, and then... well, what happened?"

"You were there. You saw what happened."

Tenten sighed heavily and glanced at Sasuke who was hiding his annoyance by forcing a smile at the two men who were dressed up as women.

"I don't see anything wrong with him finishing your paperwork. You should actually thank him for that, otherwise, you'd be swamped right now."

"That's... not it Ten," she murmured, slowing down to a stop in one of the hallways. "It's... it's just that... I don't want to get used to him doing these things for me."

"And why not? It's pretty rare to find a guy who would."

"I don't know, something... there's just something telling me not to be too dependent on him, like something bad might happen if I do."

"...You're psychic now?"

Sakura ended up smiling. "Geez Ten. Will it make you happy if I go there and take a peek?"

"No, you'll have to come as a customer!"

Sakura flushed, already getting why Tenten wanted that, but chose not to voice it out for fear that she may be wrong and the bun-haired girl might tease her about it.

"Why?"

"You were the one who kept saying you didn't contribute anything, then why not do so by being a customer?"

"Eh... well, I... I don't..." even as she stuttered, her feet dragged her towards the stairs which led to her classroom, passing by a couple of students who came from one room, until she reached the senior hallway. One room had a long line and a lot of screaming – the horror booth.

"What?" Tenten asked.

Sakura sighed as she was nearing her classroom, not entirely surprised to see the long line of girls.

"You have other customers Tenten, you should prioritize them more."

"Don't worry about that, we'll have a table for you!"

"But-"

"You're the Student Council President, you deserve to be treated like royalty!"

Sakura quirked a brow. "No, I don't think so."

"Please?"

She sighed. "I'll just check it out, I won't sit as a customer."

"...You won't even contribute to the class?"

She flushed. "O-Oh fine! I'm here anyway..."

Tenten immediately stepped out with a large grin on her face, and then took Sakura's hands and pulled her inside the room. The others who were waiting in line didn't protest upon seeing the red armband around Sakura's arm – a sign that meant she was just doing her job.

"Hey everybody!" Tenten yelled, causing all the inhabitants of the Host Cafe to look at her. "I'd like to present to you the person who made all these possible, Haruno Sakura – Leaf Academy's Student Council President!" She pushed Sakura to the front and dead center of the room, her cheeks instantly turning red when all eyes were on her.

The customers clapped their hands, seeing as it seemed proper to do, while the rest just stared at her, wondering what she would be doing.

"Uh... um..." She fidgeted and lowered her head. "I... I hope you're all enjoying the festival, and... well, since this is the same class I come from, I hope everyone is having a good time..."

A few cheers and chorus of "hell yeah" were heard, and she smiled at that, but it soon disappeared when she spotted the very person she had wanted to avoid today.

"...So..." she trailed off and forced herself to look away from his eyes, her cheeks red once more as she took a quick glance at his appearance. "That's all. I... I have to get back to patrolling the school grounds, anyway, good... good day!" She clasped her hands before her and gave a quick bow before taking her leave.

Tenten was quick to block her path, a smirk on her face.

"Nonsense! You need a break! You've been working too much!"

"T-Ten..! I have to do rounds!"

"No you don't."

"Yes I do!" But she was pushed towards a table where two girls had just left.

One of the few guys who didn't play host ended up cleaning the used utensils and glasses, and later on came back to wipe the table and turn to Sakura.

"Might as well give in, Tenten and Ino have been itching to get you here."

"Ugh." She placed her elbows on the table and had her palms over her face. "What about the next customer?"

He just shrugged and walked away, leaving Sakura to bite her lower lip as she lowered her hands to her lap and clenched her fingers. _"Please don't let it be Sasuke, please don't let it be Sasuke, please don't-"_

Sakura stiffened when she heard the all too familiar voice.

"...Milady." He greeted with a slight bow of his head, his smile a bit forced and barely noticeable. He offered her a menu, and she shakily took it, trying to avoid eye contact.

"C-Coffee..." She mumbled.

"Hn. Black?"

"...Yeah. I need it." She passed him back the menu, still refusing to meet his gaze. "...And maybe... some..."

He smirked lightly. "Strawberry crepe?" He tucked the menu under one arm.

She didn't reply for a moment before breathing in and then looking at him, her cheeks reddening slightly as she took in his form. "Make that two, as well as the coffee."

He quirked a brow, but nodded once none the less and went to the kitchen area of the room.

Sakura instantly covered her face with her hands and sighed exasperatedly.

"Stressed?"

She looked up at Shikamaru who stopped next to her when the customers he was dealing with had left, only to be replaced with three more girls whom Kiba waited at when his customers were finished with their orders and merely lingered a bit while browsing through the menu which also had a list of merchandise the cafe sold.

"Sort of- okay, yes, a lot."

He gave a lazy grin. "You should see Sasuke when he's behind those dividers and when at home." He turned to the entrance of the classroom when another set of customers had come in. "Talk to him, will you? He's such a pain when he's frustrated and taking it out on me. Troublesome guy."

"I thought Neji and Shino were his best buds?"

Shikamaru chuckled a bit. "It's... too troublesome to explain, but I'm the one he talks to when he's having problems – specifically ones revolving you." He nodded once to Sakura and entertained the customers who had come in.

As Sakura pondered over Shikamaru's words, Sasuke came back with a tray filled with her orders. He lowered a napkin and placed a dessert fork down on it. He then placed one plate of strawberry crepe on the placemat before her, and carefully lowered the cup and saucer which contained her coffee. He set the extra cup and crepe on the space opposite of her, and without bothering to ask her how many teaspoons of sugar she wanted, he put in three and stirred the beverage for her.

Sasuke was about to do the same to the other cup, but she stopped him.

"I thought you didn't like anything on your coffee?"

He blinked and looked at her, meeting her gaze with a questioning look.

"It's okay if the customer wants his or her respective host to join him or her, right?"

It took a while before Sasuke responded: "You sure about that?"

"Yes."

He sighed silently. "Let me just... get this tray back to the kitchen."

"Leave it here, you'll need it later anyway."

"...Hn." He took the seat opposite of her and set the tray aside.

Sakura took the teaspoon he used to stir her coffee and handed it to him. He took it wordlessly while still keeping his gaze on her. "For your crepe."

"...I don't..." he trailed off and looked down at the sweet dessert that had strawberry syrup on it as well.

"I insist." She mumbled in reply before forking her crepe and taking a chunk out of it.

He felt his left brow twitch and complied to her "request," spooning a small part of it and putting it in his mouth. He cringed a bit at the sugary taste his tongue and throat felt, and he immediately took a quick sip from his coffee to rid the taste.

"Get used to it." She said. "Especially if you intend on finishing my paperwork for me again."

"...If this is your way of making me stop, then let me inform you in advance that it won't work."

"You have low tolerance for anything sweet, Sasuke."

"I'll chance it."

She flushed a bit and kept her gaze on her order. "So you're saying you'd eat as many sweets as I want you to?"

"Yes."

"And that's just to do my work for me?"

"Hn."

"I'm the Student Council President, those are my-"

"You're busy with everything else." He cut her off. "It's my job, as your assistant, to lessen your workload."

"You didn't lessen it, you did everything!"

"At least you get enough sleep at night that way."

"How do you- ugh." She glared at her crepe. "Why do you keep this up? Why... why are you so... so..." she felt her lip tremble slightly as she tried to force back her whimper. "I don't want to get used to this Sasuke."

He kept his eyes on her the whole time, watching how her body had shook, and how her fingers were clenched on top of the table.

"I'm... I just... I get this feeling that... I shouldn't get used to you being around me all the time, I shouldn't depend on you."

"Why?"

"I... I don't know." She shook her head. "I just feel like I shouldn't."

"_I'm not leaving_." He stressed his words, watching how she froze and slowly lifted her head to look at his eyes. "That's what you're worried about."

"...I..." she shut her mouth and looked down.

"What made you think that I'd leave?"

She remained silent for a few moments before sighing and running her fingers through her bangs. "Just... who are you, really?" She asked shakily. "I feel like I've known you before."

"And that gave you the idea that I'll leave?"

She nodded once. "Stupid, huh?"

"...Sort of." He mumbled, looking to the side, his gaze softening as he recalled their past. "...It's understandable."

"What?"

"Nothing." He looked at her. "I swear I won't leave you." _Not again_.

"...You can't keep that promise."

"Yes I can."

"What if your family..." she trailed off. "...what if they..."

"I'm old enough to decide for myself," He stated. "And whether you like it or not, I'm keeping you as close to me as possible, got that?"

Again, her cheeks turned red.

"Because… no matter how I try to keep it to myself, I can't hold back anymore." He breathed softly. "I'm in love with you."

She stared at him with wide eyes, his not backing down.

"...How... you... you can't..." she felt her heart beating faster than normal, felt how warm her face was, felt how hard it was to breathe right now.

He saw her reaction, saw the way she stumbled with her words, saw how she was averting her gaze, how her hands trembled...

"You don't have to return it." He told her, looking at his dish. "I just wanted to let you know." And he stood and nodded once to her. "Excuse me." He murmured, before taking his leave after telling Tenten that he needed to use the bathroom.

* * *

As the students prepared to clean up the mess and close their respective booths, the Student Council President of Leaf Academy still sat on her chair, her coffee gone cold and unfinished crepe growing soggier. She kept staring at the empty spot opposite of her, where only less than a fourth of the extra coffee and crepe she ordered were consumed.

"Man, I'm so tired!"

She blinked when Naruto plopped down onto the seat Sasuke had previously sat on, and he tugged off his bow tie and pulled off his coat, afterwards, ruffled his hair to get it back to its original style.

"Too much gel..." he grumbled, watching Kiba do the same to his hair to have the spikes raise back up.

"Great job today, Naruto." She commented with a small smile, recalling that Sasuke told her that Naruto and Kiba loved compliments, no matter how small or simple they were.

"Eh? How can you tell?" He asked, blinking. "You were focused on Sasuke, and then later on, staring at his spot."

She flinched. "Was I?"

"Yeah."

Sakura sighed and forked her crepe, taking the remaining bits into one big bite, and gulping down her coffee.

"You could eat that." She mumbled, gesturing at the extra crepe and coffee with her chin.

"Nah, Sasuke might get mad." He smiled slightly. "It's his after all."

"...He won't eat it anymore." She murmured. "He didn't come back too."

"...Erm... yeah, Shikamaru went to get him."

"Stupid Sasuke..." she said softly. "...I don't get him at all."

Naruto laughed a bit. "No one does anyway."

"He's... he's just confusing." She held her head. _"He's confusing me..."_

Naruto didn't respond and just decided to relax for a bit, stiffening when he spotted their alpha come back with Shikamaru tailing behind.

"S-Sorry." He quickly stood and drooped his head, shoulders raised a bit as if trying to hide from him.

"Hn." Sasuke just lightly bopped his head with his knuckle, nothing too serious – merely a tap. "Go get changed and meet me back at the car with Kiba."

He nodded and walked over to his brother of the pack, relaying the same message Sasuke told him to Kiba and then taking his leave with him in tow.

"I'll see you later then." Shikamaru said, and then nodded to Sakura before taking his leave as well, Neji, Shino, and Lee waiting for him by the door before all four disappeared.

"Took you long enough." Sakura mumbled. "Your coffee's gone cold now."

He looked at it, and then at the crepe.

"I told Naruto he could have it, but he said it was yours." She frowned. "It's not like you're a pack of wolves and you're the alpha, even if you appear to be the leader of your group."

He gave a tiny smile at how right she actually was. "Naruto's... like that." He pulled his left hand out of his slack's pocket and ate the rest of the crepe silently, afterwards, finished his coffee and turned to Sakura who eyed him. "Don't act so surprised."

"...Yeah." She lowered her head once more.

"You ready to go yet?"

"What about the room?"

"There's a clean-up crew in-charge of that."

"I can help..."

"Yeah, sure, go convince Tenten and Ino."

She sighed and got up. "I'll just go get my things at the SC room."

"Hn." He followed her as she left the room, glancing back at him. "What?"

"You don't have to follow me."

"Yes I do." he gave a small smirk. "I left my bag there too, remember?"

She frowned. "I get this feeling you planned this."

"Think what you want." He shrugged and continued to walk, Sakura next to him. Their trip to the SC room was silent, and when they arrived there, they still didn't say a word to each other.

Sasuke turned to the left where his bag was located, while Sakura walked towards her seat on the large desk where her own things were settled.

"Why didn't you come back soon?" She asked, unable to hold back asking any longer. "I obviously waited."

He gave a small smile. "You would have been uncomfortable."

"And right now..?"

"We're alone, you won't be conscious of others looking at you."

She sighed. "You're too observant for your own good."

"Hn. I'll take that as a compliment."

He sensed her walking towards him, but didn't mind it and just proceeded to fixing his things. By the time he finished, he froze when she had wrapped her arms around him and pressed her forehead against his back.

"I'm... so confused right now." She said, eyes shut and embrace tightening. "I don't want to get used to having you around, but at the same time, I don't want you not being by my side." She sighed softly and slowly opened her eyes. "I don't think I feel the same way as you do, and yet I don't think I like the idea of just being friends with you..."

He didn't move or speak and just chose to listen to what else she has to say. He can feel that there's more to it, that she has other things in mind.

"I'm... annoyed whenever you tease me, and then again, I also find myself smiling when I think back to it. I feel so frustrated when you make things look so easy and I have a hard time, and then I also admire you for that..."

She was in conflict with everything she felt towards him, it was like she wanted him gone, and yet dreaded the idea of not seeing him.

"I don't know what to feel anymore... I don't know what I want anymore..."

"Geez." He smiled a bit and pulled away from her embrace to face her. He placed both hands on her cheeks and leaned his forehead to hers, eyes also closing upon contact. "You should really learn how to make up your mind."

"It's your fault..." she mumbled. "It's your fault for making me so confused."

His smile grew some more. "Sorry about that."

"Just... just shut up..." she sighed, lifting her hands and pressing them against his chest, her fingers clenching at the fabric of his shirt. "Just... just keep quiet..."

"You hate silence..." he whispered. "Why do you think do I keep talking to you?"

"...Yeah..." she could feel his warm breath, could sense how he drew closer.

"Maybe... I can help you decide..." he murmured, and she felt the edge of the large desk behind her. She dared to open her eyes to see his half-closed and looking at her, his arms on either of her side, palms on the surface of the table that she was almost sitting on. "...On those feelings..."

Her arms wounded around him when he leaned lower, his lips just a few inches away, centimeters...

Her fingers clenched his shirt, and he pressed his forehead against hers harder, before sighing and opening his eyes to look at her closed ones.

"...someday."

Her eyes shot open when he pulled back, his eyes not leaving hers. He turned around when he felt her hold loosen, and picked up his bag and head for the door.

"...Come on." He said softly, his brows a bit furrowed.

She blinked once for a moment, as if registering in her head what had happened, and then took her things and followed him out of the door.

She wasn't sure if she was glad he pulled away, or frustrated that he didn't push on.


	6. Shallow Breaths and Dark Irises

_**Apathetic Silence: **__*shifty eyes* Er... my cousin just... yeah. She got so pissed at the tension I left in this story, at the same time, she commented its brilliance and success despite how annoyed she was at how close they were to kissing... anyway, chapter is dedicated to you then, 'cuz._

* * *

She watched as he continued to entertain more customers, seeing that same smile he gives her nearly every single day, witnessing how he would give a small and short laugh at some of the female guests, and then at the same time, treating them like princesses...

It was unnerving.

"So, finally going to admit your _undying feelings_ for him, kaichou?"

She nearly jumped at the voice and instantly turned to see a lazy smile on Nara Shikamaru's face.

"W-What?" She spluttered. "And since when did you call me president?"

"You know what I'm talking about." He grins.

"...No."

"How you feel for Sasuke." He clarified with a sigh, and then remembered her second question. "And just lately."

"...Erm..." she lowered her head and took a quick glance at the raven haired teen. "Frankly, I wish this day would end soon."

A smirk made its way to Shikamaru's lips. "It must have been quite a week for you, having to endure seeing him entertain such troublesome women, correct?"

"Yeah..." she admits in defeat.

"Then that would mean that jealousy is eating you up from the inside?"

"...Yes."

"Well, for the record, it's a whole lot worse on his part." He walks pass her with a tray full of sweets. "After all, he has yet to hear what you have to say about his confession."

* * *

**Immortal Sin  
****"Shallow Breaths and Dark Irises"**

* * *

She let out a tired sigh after having another go in patrolling the school grounds and building. She figured she ought to contribute once more to her class by being a customer – and also to perhaps, well, talk to Sasuke about his confession.

"_But what would I tell him?"_ She thought as she reached the classroom, her classmate letting her in easily and receiving no complaints from the customers that waited in line upon seeing the arm band she had pinned on her uniform. _"Rather, how can I bring it up without feeling tensed and awkward?"_

"Oh my goodness I'm so sorry!"

She lifted her head in alarm when she heard the voice of a young woman, seeing her hand over her mouth as she looks concernedly on one of their hosts.

"Ryo! Apologize to him!"

"That's okay."

She blinked a few times to see that it was Sasuke who was entertaining the woman and the child named Ryo.

"It was an accident." He told the woman with a small smile, at the same time, unbuttoned his coat and vest in order to prevent the chocolate stain from getting through his white dress shirt underneath.

"I... I'm... I'm sorry..." the boy sniffled, head lowered and keeping his face hidden from the stares of the other people inside the make-shift cafe.

Sakura watched as Sasuke slung the coat and vest over his left arm and ruffled the boy's hair with his right hand. "Just so you know, I owe you actually."

"But..."

"I've been wanting to get this vest and coat off." He glanced at his female classmates who were peeking from the dividers that separated the improvised kitchen. "So I'll just get you a new mug of hot cocoa, my treat."

The little boy's ear twitched a bit, and a bright smile immediately made its way to his lips.

"Really Sasuke, you spoil him too much."

Sakura blinked when the woman addressed him by his name with such familiarity.

"Not enough perhaps." He chuckled and turned to the boy. "I'll be right back."

Her eyes follow his form as he disappears behind the dividers, and he can picture the girls grilling him for getting his clothes dirty and stained despite it being an accident. He did mention how he wanted to get rid of the uniform after all. But that wasn't what's important right now, rather, who could be this woman and this little boy?

"The woman is Suzume, or as the kids call her, Suzume-sensei."

She almost jumped and turned to see Shikamaru with a small smirk on his lips.

"Either you can read minds or I said my thoughts out loud."

"Nah, I can just tell from how you're looking." He turns back to the curly-haired woman who wore oval-shaped glasses, lecturing the young boy. "The kid's name is Ryo. Orphaned due to... well, you can ask Sasuke about that since he's been visiting the kid every chance he gets."

"So Suzume-san isn't Ryo's mother?"

"Aside from the hair color, where else is the resemblance?" Shikamaru shrugged. "That kid is quite troublesome, mind you. He can be a pain much like Naruto and Kiba combined."

"...And yet Sasuke is... close to him?"

"Ah well, Sasuke's... how should I put it, drawn to that. You can see him annoyed at times with Kiba and Naruto, but you can also see how he acts around them like a big brother."

Sakura blinked as an image flashed before her.

"Kaichou?"

"It's nothing." She forces a small smile and looks back at the woman and child. "Well, Sasuke does act like a brother to all of you, does he not?"

Shikamaru gave a snort. "Mostly to the rest, but not to me." He shrugged nonchalantly. "I guess you could say that if we were all related, we'll both be the elder brothers."

"You..?"

"I'm not surprised you'd give me that look, but you have to admit, I'm at least more mature than the rest of the troublesome crew."

Sakura just smiled and shook her head. "Whatever you say Shikamaru."

"So, need a table?"

"Um... I'll come back later."

He placed a hand on her shoulder and pushed her towards an empty spot which one of their male classmates had just cleaned and set.

"So despite me knowing your answer, let me do this for standard procedure: who is the host you wish to serve you?"

Sakura glanced at Sasuke to see him step out without a coat and vest and carrying a mug of hot chocolate for Ryo. She watched as the boy beamed his thanks and couldn't wait for the drink to cool down, saw how Sasuke smiled at this and took his seat next to the kid while having a conversation with Suzume.

"If you don't mind," she looks up at Shikamaru. "Can you be my host?"

Shikamaru blinked a few times. "Whoa, for a second there I'd thought you'd say Sasuke."

She blushed. "He's busy!" She looked away at this. "Besides, I want to talk to you about something that I do not wish for him to hear."

"..."

"For the time being, okay?" She sighed. "I swear, you guys act more like a gang and he's your leader with how you all act."

He merely smirked and pulled out a notepad and pen. "So, what'll it be then, m'lady?"

"Anything sweet, your best seller. Get something for yourself as well."

"As you wish." He bowed down lightly and took his leave.

Sakura chose this time to look at the window next to her, seeing her reflection as well as some of the other people inside the room. Her green eyes caught sight of Ryo's cheerful and happy face, and at Suzume's soft expression once setting her sights on the contented boy. But what made her freeze was how she can see dark onyx orbs looking at her despite being in the presence of other customers.

"_Even from his reflection, I can feel the intensity of his gaze."_

"So."

She jumped.

Shikamaru blinked a couple of times and quirked a brow. "Uh... I think something sweet will not be good for you right now."

She placed a hand on her heart and breathed in and out a few times. "I... sorry, I was... in deep thought."

The famed lazy ass of the class looked at the glass window, smirking upon seeing his friend's reflection and where his gaze was directed.

"Sasuke's eyes are quite... hypnotizing, are they not?"

"Sh-Shikamaru!" She hissed and snatched the strawberry milkshake from his hand. "Ugh!"

"It doesn't stop some of the guys from jumping at him and teasing him too."

"Your point?"

"That you do not have only women as rivals."

She choked on her milkshake.

"Sasuke has the appeal that can turn even the straightest of males gay."

"...Shikamaru, you talk as if you're one."

He merely kept his smirk. "I'm not fazed because it's not true."

"I can see that." She sighed. "And what makes you so sure that guys are attracted to him in that sense?" She motioned for him to take a seat, so he did, all the while stirring a hot cup of coffee he mixed with sugar and cream.

"I guess you don't know about those homosexuals who came here and slapped his ass."

"E-Excuse me?"

"Ah, you don't know." He grinned lazily. "Unfortunately, he is in demand by those guys who keep coming back and copping a feel."

"You sound like you enjoy his misery..."

"It's amusing to see him hold back his temper."

"Okay then..."

"For the record, Naruto is one of those fifty-fifty ones."

"...Pardon?"

"Sometimes, you think he likes Sasuke in that way, but if you live under one roof with them, you get the idea that he's just... more affectionate than most normal guys."

"O...kay..."

"Neji is a bit questionable, given how he is a bit temperamental when someone picks a fight with Sasuke."

"Yeah," she mumbled, recalling an incident last time wherein she spilled food on Sasuke. "I can tell."

"Ah right, you were almost a victim of his wrath."

"But..?"

"Neji is just protective of him since he's a childhood friend." He shrugs. "Shino, well, not much to say except he listens to nearly everything Sasuke tells him."

"Okay, how does that connect to the topic?"

"No guy really ever willingly accepts orders like that, unless the person in-charge is some sort of delinquent or... you get the idea."

"...And Shino?"

"Shino is like Neji, just a close friend who is also just as protective." He shrugs at this yet again. "I mean, Sasuke seems like a dangerous guy at first glance, yet once you get to know him, you often think if he's a pushover with how he avoids fights, so Neji and Shino immediately come to his defense."

"I never thought of Sasuke as either a pushover or a dangerous guy."

"That's because you know him." He gives a grin that translates to "I know something you don't" and it makes her confused.

"I... what?"

"From the times you've spent together, you already know him, I mean."

And she wonders if the smile he had earlier was just her imagination.

"As for Kiba, you can scratch him out, same goes for myself."

"Yeah, compared to the rest, Kiba seems like the least close to Sasuke. As for you, well, you're like the closest one to him, yet it doesn't seem so unless you're spoken to."

"This is where my big bro role comes in," he states and takes a sip from his cup. "When Sasuke has problems, he talks to me."

"But... he has a brother, right?"

"Whom he doesn't see everyday." Shikamaru pointed out. "So I know everything that goes in the Uchiha's head." He pointed the teaspoon at her nonchalantly, and Sakura is taken aback from the action. "You."

"H-Huh?"

"It's Haruno Sakura everywhere." He lowered the utensil. "Whether it's his eyes or mind, or his heart."

"...Er..."

"He's under your spell."

"What spell?"

Shikamaru grinned. "The troublesome thing you women call love."

"Shikamaru..." she lowered her head. "I... do feel for him, you know?"

"So what's stopping you?"

"I don't know." She shook her head. "That's why I'm asking if... you have an idea, maybe..."

"Ah, this is what you don't want to let him know yet."

She nodded once, still refusing to meet his gaze.

"Well, I think you know that already." He leaned back and glanced at Sasuke. "You're afraid."

* * *

"Werewolf."

He glowered.

"Werewolf."

"Shut it already!"

"Well, why don't you shift into another form if you're a Shifter?"

"Why call me a Werewolf? Humans rubbing off on you?"

It was his turn to glare.

"Cut it out guys." Shikamaru yawned. "Neji, seriously, I never thought of you as one to start a fight."

"Kiba is annoying me."

"How so?"

"He keeps breathing on my neck like a damn stalker."

"And why would you do that?" Shikamaru asked Kiba with a raised brow.

"It's fun to annoy him." He grinned. "Knowing that he isn't allowed to kill me."

"I can give you a few scratches that may seem fatal but not enough to kill you." He lifted a fist as mist surrounded it. "Or I can turn your body to ice."

"Blood-sucker!"

"Werewolf!"

"Vampire!"

"Don't even call me that!"

"VAMPIRE!"

"WEREWOLF!"

"VAMP-"

"Oh will you both shut up?" Shino sighed and pressed a button to deactivate the alarm of his car. "And why are Kiba and Naruto here anyway? Aren't they hitching with Sasuke?"

Shikamaru opened the door and forced the two Shifters in before stepping inside as well, he and Lee on either side of the two Shifters.

"He has things to take care of, so speed it up because this will not be a comfortable ride for Lee and I."

Neji smirked and relaxed on the passenger seat. "How nice of you Shikamaru."

"Shut up, I only let you sit there to prevent you and Kiba from killing each other."

"Where's Sasuke off to anyway?" Naruto asked, a bit uneasy being cramped into a car with the four Knights and their leader nowhere in sight – or scent.

"With our Kaichou, of course."

All eyes were on him this time.

"Oh come _on_." He sighed.

"She's going to return his feelings?" Kiba asked.

"They're getting together now?" was what Shino questioned.

"Wait for our damn leader to get home and tell you himself, right now," he turned to Shino. "Drive. Fast."

* * *

From his leaning position on the window sill, he saw the car pull out of the parking lot and into the streets. He then lifted his gaze to the cloudy skies, wondering if it would be good for rain to pour down or not.

"So that's all your class has earned then, right?"

"Yes, Kaichou."

"Okay then." She signed the paper for confirmation and handed it to the class representative of the last class in the school. "Thank you for helping make this event a success."

The young girl smiled and bowed down a bit, aftewards, stole a glance at Sasuke and then took her leave.

Sakura had seen this particular act, and it made her feel a bit on edge.

"Was she one of your frequent customers?"

He looked from the skies to the only person in the room with him. "Hn."

"She's grown fond of you, apparently."

"So does majority of the school's female population."

"I can tell." She stood up and packed her things. "Where are Kiba and Naruto?"

"Went home with the others."

She stopped her actions and looked at him over her shoulder, seeing those eyes looking back at her with the same intensity as earlier.

"So... we'll..." she trailed off when he walks over to her, keeping his gaze steady on her as she tries to stand her guard, but only ends up backing up and hitting her desk. "We'll be alone." she murmured, feeling nervous.

"Aa."

"...In the car." She tried to will herself to look away, but ended up failing when he got closer and closer...

"Hn."

"R-Right." She gave a nervous laugh and side stepped, zipping up her bag at the process. "So, I'll... just fix my things and we're good to-" she cut herself off when she turned and saw him standing so close that their noses touched. "...Sasuke..."

"I don't know..." he began leaning forward and forcing her against the wall. "How much longer I can hold back."

She is stupefied at how his eyes were gazing at her, at how his arms pressed against the wall behind her, and how his body was so close to her that she could feel his warmth.

"I think I'm already at my limit."

Her heart was thumping so loud that she swore it would pop out of her chest. She watched him move closer, lean lower, and her hands shakily pressed against his chest. She thought about pushing him away, but her fingers clenched the fabric of his shirt, and her eyes closed despite her telling herself to push him away.

He felt her movements, saw her actions, and witnessed how she tilted her head up to him, bringing their lips closer to each other.

He let his forehead touch hers, and her fingers clenched tighter. He checked her behavior again, before lightly brushing his lips against hers, pulling away a bit to see how she would react.

She didn't move, but she was still tensed.

Sasuke couldn't help but smile at this, but since he didn't want to break the moment just yet, he figured he should do something to make her relax, but not through words.

He lifted a hand to place on her cheek, making her open her eyes to look at him. Upon seeing his smile, she managed to calm her beating heart and avert her gaze elsewhere, her face a bright red color upon realizing that he had already kissed her despite how short and light it was.

She debated whether she should speak, but his hand on her cheek was distracting, and his forehead against hers only made her tongue tied.

"Push me away if you don't want me to kiss you again." He murmured, pressing his lips on her forehead first, and then lowering to her lips once more.

Her eyes automatically closed the moment she felt him kiss her, and slowly, she moved her hand to wrap around his neck and pull him closer. He moved his other hand to the back of her head in order to tilt it a bit for a better angle, while his other hand that was on her cheek moved to the mid of her back.

He pulled away for a bit in order for them to breathe, and as their eyes met, they couldn't help but just remain that way for a few moments, letting the silent atmosphere and each others' presence be their comfort.

Sakura jumped all of a sudden when she felt something vibrate from Sasuke's pocket, so she looked down in alarm just as he was also taken aback by what that was.

When rationalization came flying back to their thoughts, he quickly pulled out his mobile and flipped it open to answer the caller.

"What?"

"How to put it..." came Shikamaru's lazy voice. "We've got a few friends who located our spot and they're on the prowl."

"...Can you handle it?"

"Well, yeah..." he drawled. "I just figured I should warn you in case you get back and be welcomed by a pack."

"...Clear it then."

"I know." He sighed. "Look, I'll get Neji to bring up a storm so that you'll have a reason to stay with her tonight, sound good?"

"I have a car." He glanced at Sakura, seeing her looking dazed and staring elsewhere, anything but at him.

"Then make it a lightning storm and you've got yourself a reason to stay with her."

He smirked lightly. "Alright."

"You owe me."

"Hn." He closed the flap of his phone and looked at Sakura. "I better take you home then."

"Why?"

He quirked a brow and she flushed.

"Erm... I mean, uh... y-yeah..."

He smirked. "You need some sleep Sakura."

She just chose to nod and keep her mouth shut, afterwards, fixed her things and followed him outside the Student Council room.

He took a quick glance at her, seeing her walking a foot behind her, so he smirked a bit and pulled out his right hand from his pocket and grabbed her left one.

Startled by the sudden action, Sakura lifted her head and looked at Sasuke, blushing when she felt his fingers intertwine with hers.

"Don't think that kiss answered my confession."

"E-Eh?"

"I'm still waiting for your answer." He told her. "So for now, I'll just... try to be content with this." He lifted their hands up a bit for emphasis. "But if I lose control like earlier, you better not push me away – since you let me kiss you twice, and longer on the second one."

"I... I have..." she stammered and looked away. "Can't you already tell how fast you make my heart beat?"

"That could mean a different thing altogether."

"...Yeah..."

"And besides, I want to hear you say those words." He admitted with a small grin. "Say it like I did."

She flushed even more upon recalling how he just confessed all of a sudden, and yet she could feel from his gaze and the tone of his voice how much he really means it.

"And I don't think kissing you as a friend or classmate would be appropriate." He added. "But like I said, if I can't hold back, then you can't refuse me."

"It's... it's not like I'd refuse you." She said meekly, and her fingers shyly intertwined with his as well. "But... I... I do... feel..." her cheeks grew hot.

He smirked at this. "Feel..?"

"N-Nothing! Let's just hurry up!" She ended up running, taking him with her as he too broke into a sprint to match her pace.

* * *

His eyes took in the sight of the bloody pavement, as well as the trees that had a few limp bodies lying on their branches. Some of the internal organs of the Shifters can be found on the grassy lawn as well, and he wondered if the inside of the large house had any evidence that a battle occurred.

"I guess Society will be asking for a large amount of money for this clean-up, Honoze." He turned to the weasel that was settled comfortably on his left shoulder, before looking back at the front door of the house. He stepped closer with pocketed hands, seeing the door open to reveal a tired looking Shikamaru.

Then again, he always looked tired.

"He just left." He muttered while rubbing his shoulder. "I told him to stay with her."

"As much as he'd like that," he let Honoze climb down from him and scurry inside the house. "He still wanted to make sure you guys are alright."

"And now, he runs off to her to make sure none of those things are after her."

"Well, you and the rest will have to find another location."

Shikamaru sighed heavily. "It's going to be hard looking for a place big enough to have two wolves."

"I bought an apartment building where you all have your own rooms."

"We have our own rooms here as well."

"Without having to share it with either of the Shifters."

His eyes lit up at that. "What's the catch?"

Itachi simply chuckled. "Start eating human food and drinking human beverage again."

"We've been doing so since we set foot at Leaf High."

"Even in your own homes." He smirked lightly. "The place I bought is closer to Sakura's home, so that means it's filled with people, which translates to lesser Shifters."

Shikamaru sighed once again. "How can we practice if that's the case?"

"Wake up at dawn and pretend to go for a jog, when in actuality, you're headed for the forest where no one can spot any of you."

"Except Shifters."

"Of course, it's up to them and you how the fight will end." He looked around. "Seeing as they infiltrated, their deaths are inevitable."

"They came to take Naruto and Kiba back, but those two didn't want to."

"You failed to tell that to my brother."

"He has Sakura to worry about."

He chuckled. "I see I didn't make the wrong choice of making you second-in-command."

"I still think it's troublesome."

He nodded once and turned around just as his weasel stepped out and crawled back up to his shoulder. "By now, the others are already awake, so tell them the news." He glanced at Shino's car that was filled with dents and scratch marks. "And tell Shino to get an SUV instead."

"It's funny how Sasuke's bike and car remained unscathed too."

"Both have an electric barrier – don't think that Sasuke is different from Shino when it comes to cars – or motorbikes." He smirked. "Maybe Shino should put up a wind barrier."

"...Good idea."

* * *

She sighed and pocketed back her mobile phone, afterwards, stepped out of the house and locked the door. She checked the sky and saw that no clouds are in sight, so she walked on down the street and headed for Leaf Academy.

"_The one time I want him to stay, he ends up going home. And the one time I want him to pick me up, he sends me a message that he can't."_

A frown made its way on her face.

"_Stupid Sasuke."_

Sakura proceeded to walk without much care for her surroundings, unaware that there were lesser people that day for some strange reason. She also continued to ignore the feeling of being watched, or perhaps followed, since she just stopped all of a sudden and brought her bag up to her chest. She opened the flap and unzipped it, checking if she brought the packed lunch she made. Upon seeing the wrapped bento, she gave a sigh of relief, no longer worrying about lunch.

She continued her journey to school, stopping when she heard something from behind. Without any second thoughts, she turns around and a black blur whizzes pass her.

Her eyes widen when she saw a pair of dark colored irises, yet upon blinking, there was nothing and no one there.

Her head turned from left to right, up and down, finally, she raised a hand to her forehead, pushing some of her bangs away from her face and then sighing. "Sasuke's right, I really need sleep." and once more, she proceeded to walk to school.

From behind the hedges of the house she had just passed lay a humanoid wolf that struggled under the strong grip of the Immortal that had prevented it from feasting on Sakura.

"_That was too close." _He thought, before glaring down at the Shifter that growled at him. Without a moment's pause, he placed a hand over its throat and gripped onto the flesh, afterwards, he emitted electricity and sent high voltages to the Shifter's body, making it whine and then grow limp once the lightning died down.

He lifted his gaze at the person peering from the living room window, giving the old man a nod, and earning a nod back in return. He stood up just as the old man stepped out of his home and approached the dead Shifter.

"The little battle last night was quite bloody." He told the teenaged Immortal.

"I know," he placed a hand behind his neck and then tilted his head to the side. "We owe Society so much right now."

"Please." The old man snorted. "We owe your race a whole lot more for taking down the rogue ones, and for protecting the people from wild Shifters."

He nodded once and looked at Raiha when it swooped down from a branch and onto his shoulder.

"Go follow her." He told the bird, and it took off.

"Girlfriend?"

He smirked lightly. "In a way."

* * *

She lifted her head when the classroom door slid open, and her eyes widened slightly upon seeing Sasuke standing there, looking at the teacher who was just as shocked as she was.

"Uchiha, you're tardy."

"I walked."

"...And you're... a mess."

He looked at himself, seeing his tie undone, one of his shirt's collar raised, one part of his dress shirt tucked out, and a few buttons undone as well.

"Even your hair's a lot messier than usual."

Sasuke sighed and ruffled his hair, getting the spikes evened out. He then moved his fingers though his bangs to get it back to its original style.

"Rough day with a few fans perhaps?"

He snorted. "Rough would be an understatement." He pocketed his left hand and walked inside after closing the door behind him. Next, he lowered his bag to the floor and took his seat, sending Sakura a quick look and nodding at her as well.

"Maybe you ought to fix yourself first?"

He looked at the gaze of his teacher, already knowing that he knew what he was up against which caused him to be tardy.

"But if you wish to retain a rebellious look, then by all means." He snapped the book he was holding closed and grinned behind the mask he wore to cover the lower part of his face. "Yet I don't think our Student Council President would appreciate her assistant looking like that."

Sasuke looked over at Sakura who was staring at him with a red face. He smirked at this and turned back to his teacher. "Trust me, she's loving it right now."

Some of their classmates whispered to each other and were snickering.

"But..." Sasuke leaned back and pocketed his hands. "Only on me." He sent her a wink, making her turn redder than before, and causing a few of their female classmates to break into giggles and squeals as they poked fun at Sakura and how the two are finally making progress from their usual flirting moments and intense gazes.

"I guess this class are supporters of the Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura pair, while the others..." he trailed off and chuckled. "Not to worry, the faculty seems to have taken a liking to your coupling as well."

Sasuke almost snorted. "Courtesy of you, sensei?"

"And Principal Tsunade, mind you." And he proceeded with his lecture.

* * *

The moment the lunch bell rang, Sakura quickly stood up and made a move to approach Sasuke, but Ino, Tenten, and Hinata pulled her back and said that they had a lot to discuss about. She tried to tell them next time, yet upon seeing Sasuke being dragged by his own friends, she gave a sigh and let Ino pull her to the cafeteria.

When they arrived, she let Ino and Tenten force her to sit down with Hinata as they grab their lunch. Sakura merely nodded and sighed as soon as they left, causing Hinata to look at her.

"Something wrong, Sakura?"

"Huh? Oh... um..." she forced a smile. "Nothing."

Hinata looked at the bento Sakura held on her lap instead of placing it on the table like she did with hers. She then looked over her cousin's table, seeing how the guys were ganging up on Sasuke, and demanding answers from him.

"I can cover for you."

"Hm?"

Hinata smiled at Sakura. "You can ask Sasuke-nii to spend lunch with you at the rooftop – no one will bother you there."

"H-Hinata... I..."

"Neji-nii and the rest won't stop you or him, so go on ahead."

"I..." she smiled afterwards. "Is it that obvious?"

"Just tell him Sakura." She encouraged the pink-haired girl. "He's still waiting for your answer."

"Yeah," she nodded once and stood. "Thanks Hinata." and upon receiving a smile from the quiet girl, Sakura walked towards Sasuke's table, causing the guys to quiet down when one of them spotted her.

"Um..." she fidgeted under their gaze, and Naruto sniffed a bit.

"Hey! I smell food!" He exclaimed, causing Sakura's cheeks to flame up.

What was the use of hiding the bento behind her then?

"You're right." Kiba added while also sniffing. "...Hmm... sushi, assorted."

"I also smell omelet rice." Naruto pushed his brother's head away. "And... tempura?"

Her cheeks grew redder.

Shikamaru was the first to notice how uncomfortable Sakura was feeling, and he glanced at Sasuke and noted that he, too, noted this. "Go."

He turned to Shikamaru and blinked.

"Before these two make her any more uncomfortable."

"...Hn." He stood and walked over to Sakura, meeting her gaze with his. He gestured with his head, so she nodded and they walked out of the cafeteria, missing how Shikamaru punched the back of Naruto and Kiba's heads.

* * *

The afternoon breeze was a mixture of warm and cold, but it felt relaxing for him. As for Sakura though, she was a bit on edge as she knelt next to him on the rooftop and unwrapped the bento box.

"You could have said something earlier."

"I was too nervous."

"Hn." He smirked at her lightly. "First the porridge, now this."

"Well if you don't want to eat-"

"I said no such thing."

She sighs at this and opens the lid of the bento. "Well, it's the first time I've ever... done something like this..."

"I'm a guinea pig now?"

"Sasuke!" She punched his arm, and he ended up laughing at her reaction.

Her eyes met his gaze, and she instantly looks away and spots his messy tie. Without warning, her fingers lift and undoes it, and he watched in silence as she fixes it for him. She also buttons down his dress shirt, her eyes fixated on how his messed up look revealed too much skin for her liking.

Seeing her guard down, he leans in and captures her lips in a quick kiss, pulling back with a smile on his face when she stares at him wide eyes.

"Too tempting."

She sees his eyes, sees how dark they are, sees a hint of dark gray that was barely noticeable unless one would stare longer and harder.

"Something on my face?" He asks, but she still remains silent and continues to look into his eyes.

"Sasuke..."

"Hn?"

A scene from this morning enters her head, and she looks down at her bento while he waits for her to continue. She pulls out a pair of chopsticks and picks at the sushi.

"This morning..." she murmured. "Were you... by any chance, near me?"

* * *

_**Apathetic Silence: **__You know what the weird part is? "Iris" started playing in my head for no apparent reason, and it's funny how it sort of... fits the story. Maybe just a bit, perhaps._


	7. Intimacy

_**Apathetic ****Silence: **Sorry about the cliffhanger from last time, but truth be told, my cousin has been giving me tips about nearly everything that she learned while writing stories, and I figured I should give those a shot – especially with cliffhangers. But yeah, I might have done too much already? As for the "Sakura not yet confessing part," well, I wouldn't want them to just be together so soon, plus, it builds tension and tension is supposedly good for... romance, right? Okay, I need my cousin right now..._

Anyway, please notify me about some abrupt changes, if any. Like for instance, are their characterizations still going good? As in the character development; I'm aiming for gradual, but is it working out right? Specifically Sasuke's; I'm starting to get why my cousin finds him hard to write and at the same time, amusing to work on.

_Also, I apologize for the very late update. Adjusting from my once schedule as a student to a working employee was pretty rough, and my family had undergone a few financial problems so I had to focus on that first. Lastly, I guess the "Narutard" in me is kind of dying down, but I simply can't abandon this story or this pairing just yet._

As for my cousin, I asked her if she has anything to say, all she said was sorry for not updating as frequent as she could – both work and school isn't helping her out, not to mention some family issues and being an officer of their school's main organization. She does promise to make an update or two once the Holiday break arrives.

* * *

She clenched her fists when he took too long to answer, so she turns to him, mouth open and ready to lash out - but instead, she stops to see him looking elsewhere, his gaze narrowed slightly and staring off into the distance.

"...Sasuke?"

He didn't react to his name but just remained stationary, until he closed his eyes and stood up, hands pocketed. Sakura watched him walk towards the railings that prevented him from falling.

"I thought that..." he began; his voice a little softer than normal. "You'd actually confess by now."

Sakura flushed and turned away. "Um... um... I... well..."

He sighed silently as she tried to explain herself, and then he looks at her over his shoulder with a small frown etched on his face.

"_Sorry__I__can't__be__honest__right__now.__"_ He said to her in his thoughts, before heading back next to her and placing a hand on her head, making her stop her rambling and look at him. He then sits down and gives her a small smile, afterwards, pulls her head to his shoulder with his tilting to hers. "If you're upset that I didn't pick you up today, then I'm sorry."

Sakura just turned redder. "D-Don't be so full of yourself!"

* * *

**Immortal Sin  
****"Intimacy"**

* * *

She fidgeted under the gaze of Tenten and Ino, before looking towards Hinata who sent her a tiny smile and then went back to work.

"So... what's the agenda for... next week?" She asked, turning to Hinata. "Or rather, is there something that we need to..."

Hinata giggled at how nervous Sakura is currently feeling under both Ino and Tenten's glare.

"Sasuke-nii's on it."

"Again!" She stood at this, her hands slamming on the table that she completely forgot about the other two women who are now taken aback by her reaction. "That... that... ugh!" She walks over to Hinata and looks at the files the quiet girl has. "What did he take?"

"He only left these." She pulled out a stack of papers from under the table that were neatly piled together. Furthermore, Sakura had seen that they were alphabetically arranged as well, and the string that bound them together prevented the papers from falling out of line.

"...He arranged them."

"Yeah," Hinata nodded. "But he figured that you'd get mad again if he also delivered these to the faculty, so he left the task to you."

"...It's just a simple job!" Sakura yelled. "He took the rest!"

Hinata smiled. "He thinks that telling the sports club Captains to clean up after practice sessions would be a tough one, given that they're mostly guys and would stand up to you."

"YOU TOLD HIM THAT DIDN'T YOU?"

"He asked."

"...Hinataaa!" She ended up hitting her own head on the desk as if doing a head bang. "What else did he tackle?"

"Um... he met up with other committees to remind them of keeping a few members in line, specifically those who are in-charge of the library since some students return _very_overdue books."

"...I never had a problem with committee leaders."

"Most of which are girls," Hinata smiled "who happen to be his frequent customers a week ago."

She scowled at this. "...Anything else?"

"He talked to the students who were playing ball in the hallways and gave them a good lecture."

"I already told them to stop last time!"

"And they still played ball."

Sakura sighed. "...What else?"

"He went to the senior classrooms and told the class representatives to remind the students to clean up before heading out."

"...And?"

"He arranged these," she patted the stack of papers from earlier. "In alphabetical order, signed everything that needed to be signed, and also bound them so that you wouldn't have a hard time carrying them and worrying over the fact that you might trip – for the klutz that you are."

Sakura snatched the paper which Hinata brought up and read Sasuke's small note. She can recognize his hand writing alright – it was neat and had a blunt message, but also left behind a teasing tone to it.

"Bastard..." she hissed, crumpling the paper.

"But you love him anyway."

"Sadly- HINATA!"

"I knew it."

Sakura just grabbed the stack and walked out, leaving Hinata to Ino and Tenten who just gaped and asked what had happened. The Secretary of the Student Council merely smiled.

* * *

Some of the students cleared the hallway as she walked on with a dark aura surrounding her. The few people who dared to defy her actually ended up backing away at the sight of her scowl and muttering self. Some even asked if that was really their President.

"When I get my hands on him..." she mumbled lowly.

"Kaichou!"

She quickly turned to face the boy who called her, the frown on her face making the boy step back in alarm.

"Oh, sorry... uh..."

Sakura sighed and gave a small smile. "No, I'm sorry, I'm just having a bad day."

"Oh." He returned the grin and eyed the stack of papers she was carrying. "Do you need some help with that?"

"Hm? Oh no, no." She shook her head. "This is about the only job I have left so let me do this."

"...Huh?"

Sakura sighed and then turned to the window with a pout upon spotting a dark-haired student speaking to the Soccer Team Captain.

"Uchiha Sasuke took about every job I have."

"But... he's your assistant, so..."

"He's supposed to assist me, not do everything." She sighed yet again as her gaze softened. "But... I guess I have to thank him. I've been a whole lot less stressed because of him."

The boy chuckled and looked at where she was staring as well. "Despite that, he's still an enigma."

"Feh." She turned around and proceeded to walk. "It's all on the outside."

The student followed her and laughed. "Maybe to you, but to the rest, we see him differently."

"And how do you see him then?" She paused. "Er..."

He shook his head. "My name's Hinamura Daisuke."

"...Great. You both have the same last two syllables."

He blinked. "Oh, Sasuke, and then me, Daisuke." He laughed.

"So... my question?"

"Ah, right." Daisuke nodded. "He doesn't talk much unless needed or spoken to. Even some of the team Captains are afraid of him when he approaches. The teachers... well, they sure have high respects for him that it makes me wonder if the whole faculty knows him."

"Well, the Principal is a family friend of his, so that's got to be a plus."

"So are some of the students here, but..." Daisuke looked outside the windows they passed by. "No one treats them like they do to Uchiha Sasuke."

"Hey, his name does have a familiar ring to it."

"It does?"

"...sort of." She shrugged, and then looked back at the purple haired boy who had the same eye color as his eyes. She had to hold back a laugh at his messy locks, and wondered what else she could compare him with Sasuke. _"__Their__hair__color__matches__their__respective__eye__colors,__their__names__have__'suke,'__and__both__their__hairstyles__are__messy__looking__yet__it__suits__them__both.__"_

"So, you and him?"

She blushed at the question.

"Confirmed." Daisuke grinned.

"N-No!" She stammered. "Well, not yet."

"Yet?"

"I..." she flushed. "I haven't... told him yet."

"Wait, _he_confessed to you?"

"Surprisingly." She murmured, trying to hide her face behind the stack of papers. "I still can't get over it either."

"Oh. That _is_surprising."

"What _is_?"

They stopped in their tracks when Neji stood in front of them next to Lee and Kiba.

"Oh, hey guys." She greeted them with a smile. "Daisuke, I think you already know them?"

"Of course." He grinned. "If I know Uchiha Sasuke, then I should also know Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, and... er, sorry dude, I'm not sure about your family name, but it's Kiba right?"

The brunette nodded a bit. "Inuzuka." He provided, recalling the last names that the others came up for him, with "Uzumaki" meant to be Naruto's in order to lesser complications.

"There you go, Inuzuka Kiba."

"You didn't answer my question." Neji reminded, eyes narrowed. "What's so surprising about Sasuke confessing?"

Sakura blinked and recalled Shikamaru's words from yesterday, at how Neji was quite protective and defensive of anything related to Sasuke.

"Well he's... a bit anti-social to some, and... he doesn't strike me as the type to be the first one to confess to a girl."

"So you are saying he is indifferent and cold." Neji stepped forward as Kiba instantly held him back. He merely shrugged Kiba's arm and sent Daisuke a glare.

"Huh?"

Sakura stepped in front of Daisuke, her small stature not entirely hiding Daisuke from Neji's view – then again, all the guys were at least half a head taller than her.

"Neji, don't jump to conclusions."

Neji averted his gaze to her, and she could feel how cold the atmosphere was.

"Daisuke was merely saying his opinion."

"Which can also be considered an insult to Sasuke."

"What is it with you when it comes to Sasuke?" She suddenly asked, and noted how Lee stood rigid all of a sudden while Kiba cursed a "fuck" under his breath.

"_You_," He seethed, "of all people, should _not_ have asked." And his fists clenched.

"Neji, let's go." Lee held his shoulder. "It was... just an innocent question."

"She has to know." Neji shoved Lee back without breaking eye contact from Sakura. "She has to realize right now if she ever wants to be with him."

"What... what are you saying?" Sakura grew more and more confused. She didn't think Neji was _this_ bad.

"You caused him so much pain Haruno Sakura."

"What?"

"For years... you never, not even once, remembered."

"What are you talking about Neji?"

His brows furrowed even more. "After everything he has done for you, you easily forgot about it, _all_ of it."

Her eyes blinked and narrowed down, unsure of what exactly Neji meant.

"Sasuke was the one who sa-"

"_Neji_."

He cut himself off and glared, afterwards, relaxed and turned to face Sasuke. From the perspective of others, Sasuke looked calm, normal even – but Neji, Lee, and Kiba knew he was far from it.

"That's _enough_." He told him, hands pocketed and pose emitting an air of nonchalance, but his narrowed eyes said it all.

"I'm sorry." He answered, nodding once and giving Sakura one last look before taking his leave, Lee flashing Sakura a farewell smile before following, while Kiba sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"I... I wasn't able to..." Kiba murmured, and Sakura could see how tense he was feeling.

Sasuke walked pass him, but gave him a short pat on the head and then proceeded to where Sakura was.

Kiba had let out the breath he was holding before taking his leave.

"Er... I... I'll leave you two then." Daisuke uttered. "Erm... Kaichou, Uchiha." And he left.

Sasuke kept his gaze on Sakura who was looking back at him, her head filled with so many questions.

"Forget anything that he said."

"Wha..."

"_Please._"

She was startled at his tone, and how his eyes are filled with something close to pain or... possibly... regret?

"...Okay." She lowered her head and let him lean her forehead to hers, a hand on the back of her neck while the other rested on her waist.

"I love you, okay?"

She closed her eyes. "Mm."

"That's all that should matter." He murmured, and she shakes her head, making him puzzled.

Sakura lifts her head and meets his gaze. "My feelings should matter too, you know."

He lets out a small smile, forgetting about his anger earlier.

"I... I also..." she flushed and looked away.

"Tell me when you're ready." He planted a kiss on her forehead, and then took the stack of papers from her, all the while keeping his smile. "Right now, let's head to the faculty."

Despite him taking her remaining job for the day, she just follows him, yet he slows down a bit so that they can walk next to each other.

She punches his arm lightly, and he looks at her with a raised brow.

"That's for calling me a klutz."

And he ends up laughing at that.

* * *

"Neji, you shouldn't have said such things, it's not Sakura's fault and you know it."

He continued to walk down the stairs, his glare still in place while his fists remained clenched.

"Neji!" Lee grabbed his shoulder to stop him, but Neji pushed him back. "Calm down!"

"I am _not_ letting what happened before happen again!" He seethed. "Five years, Lee. Five years..." he looked down and let his anger consume him, before letting out a heavy and long sigh which calmed him down a bit.

"I know." Lee stated just as Kiba arrived. "I wouldn't want him to be depressed again as well, but we have our orders."

Kiba frowns at this. "Honestly, I'm with Neji."

"What?" The two Immortals exclaimed in surprise.

"I really think that Sakura should know, but not just because it's to prevent Sasuke another shitload of pain, but also because it would be fair to her."

Lee gave a small smile at this. "Sasuke doesn't want her to know, so we shouldn't let her know."

"But why?" Kiba narrowed his eyes. "It's only giving him a hard time this way."

"Troublesome."

The three men turned to see Shikamaru, Shino, and Naruto come down from the stairs next to them.

"What's troublesome?" Neji asked with a scowl.

"You and older dog boy there." He gestured with his head. "Sasuke has his own reasons for keeping the truth from Sakura, and trust me when I say it's for our own good and hers."

"And Sasuke's?" Neji asked.

Shikamaru does not answer and merely turns away. "Personally, I want Sakura to know everything as well, but our Lead Knight says otherwise."

"You didn't _exactly_answer me."

"No Neji," he shook his head. "It won't be for his own good..." he gives a light chuckle. "At least until he's sure he won't have to leave again."

"Leave?" Shino voiced out, just as surprised as the rest.

"All of us of course, including these two." Shikamaru yawned. "Geez, I hate my job as second-in-command."

"Wait, what do you mean by leave? Why would we leave?" Lee asked.

"He almost drank her blood last time, remember? If he has trouble controlling his urges, then that means we'll be just as prone to others. Something like that." He shrugs. "Plus the fact that Eclipse knows Sakura, and what her position is in Sasuke's life – or to be more specific, heart."

"Eclipse is planning to send us away again until he's fully over her?"

"Itachi's working on it." Shikamaru said while turning to Shino. "So for now, let's hope he'll get something done to not make Eclipse force us away. I doubt Sasuke would be able to pull through the second time around."

"Hinata refuses to say anything." Neji murmurs.

"She's bound by the rules as well, so it's only Sasuke who knows or will know."

"And given that he, too, is bound by the rules..." Shino sighed. "We won't find out until he tells us himself."

* * *

The soft sound from the air conditioner was calming to her ears, but she couldn't get her homework done properly with a pair of dark eyes looking at her so intently.

"Sasuke, I get that you're done, so if you could just look elsewhere?"

"What's wrong with looking at you?"

"It's distracting me."

"How so?"

She twitches and raises her head, yelping when he was but an inch away from her.

"I'll sue you!" She tells him once gaining back her bearings, her face turning beat red when he moves closer and lightly kissed the corner of her mouth.

"Go ahead and sue me, if it'll make me stare at you some more."

"S-Stop it already!" She looks away and rests her head on her folded arms on the table of her living room.

"I can't help it."

She tries to calm her heart down and boldly meets his gaze, blushing further at how serious he was looking at her right now.

"I just feel like I have to keep looking at you to make sure you're really here."

If he was smiling or smirking, she'd know that he was just teasing her, but the seriousness in his eyes made her fully aware of how sincere he was with his words. What she couldn't grasp was the fear she could see in those usually brave and proud eyes.

"Sasuke, what's wrong, really?"

"It's nothing." He shakes his head a bit and turns away. "I just... have a lot in mind right now."

"You can talk to me, you know?" She inches closer to him and dared to rest her chin on his shoulder, her eyes peering up at him to see his gaze still elsewhere. "Just tell me what you want to say, or can say."

He closes his eyes and sighs softly, before looking at her and placing a hand to her cheek to brush off some of her pink bangs. "As long as you know how I feel for you, then it's fine."

She grew confused at his words, but didn't pry any further when he leaned down and placed his lips on hers lightly, pulling away to let her know that he's still waiting for her answer, and until then, he wouldn't go any further.

"You don't have to hesitate when you want to kiss me." She tells him, moving closer to lessen the gap between their lips. "It's not like I'd push you away."

"I may not be able to control myself if you keep this up." He says with a light blush on his cheeks. "Your hands are too near _there_."

"O-oh!" She pulls back almost instantly. "S-sorry!"

He looks elsewhere, feeling how awkward it suddenly grew. "I... I guess I should go, since you can't focus with me around."

He moves to stand up, and upon seeing his back, she gets up as well and launches her arms around him, stopping him and pulling him against her body for an embrace.

"Don't go." She pleads against his back, her fingers clenching the front of his uniform. "Don't leave me."

Those were just the words he needed to hear to make him turn around and pin her down to the carpeted floor.

Had she not been distracted at how he was looking at her, she would have felt how painful the fall was.

"_Damn__it_ Sakura..!" He sounded pained when he said that, but it doesn't make her change her mind.

"Stay," she tells him, lifting a hand up to his face. "Please stay with me, don't leave me..."

"You know I..." he shuts his eyes and leans his forehead on hers. "…If I stay, I won't be able to hold back."

"I know." She closes her eyes and feels his lips on hers. _"__I__don't__want__you__to__stop...__" _she thought as he moves to her neck. _"__I__don't__want__you__to__hesitate...__"_ she wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him closer. _"__Maybe...__just__maybe...__" _she let out a gasp when she feels his hand trail up her thigh and under her skirt. _"__I__may__have__already__given__my__heart__and__myself__to__you__before...__" _

Her eyes open halfway when she feel her clothing loosening, and her fingers find their way to his tie, and then his shirt's buttons.

"_I just don't know when and how long ago, but I believe that my feelings for you from whenever that time was just grew deeper now..."_

She could feel his hands on her body, his palms warm against her bare skin as she shudders from both his touch and the cool air. Her eyes look up at his upper body which was lacking clothing, and his belt halfway undone.

"Sasuke..?"

She also notices that he has stopped touching her and kissing her.

"Sasuke what's-"

He cuts her off with a quick and light kiss, before leaning his forehead on hers and closing his eyes, his breathing heavy but slow.

She brought her hands up to cup his face, her right one pushing his bangs away and caressing his cheek, making him lean to her touch.

"I don't think..." he began and opens his eyes to look at her. "I don't think I can do this to you just yet."

Sakura stays silent for a few seconds, before closing her eyes and catching her own breath. "Even when I said otherwise..."

"Aa..."

A small smile appears on her lips, and she meets his eyes with her own. "You're really something else, Uchiha Sasuke."

He gives a light smirk and plants a kiss on her forehead. "As you are, Haruno Sakura."

"_And maybe... just maybe, I am grateful that you stopped because that means you respect me and my feelings, and that you really do love me."_

"Know something?" She asks in a soft voice as he lays next to her, an arm around her waist while she continues to brush the back of his head with her hand, both uncaring of their nearly nude bodies.

He opens his eyes to look at her, letting her know that he's listening.

She gives him a gentle smile. "I love you too."

* * *

There's a tapping finger on his desk, and he looks at it before raising his gaze to meet the lazy dark eyes of Shikamaru. "You did not come home last night."

"Hn."

"You did not even leave us a message." He turns to his left as soon as Neji sits down.

"Furthermore," he looks to his right where Shino casually leans against the window pane and crosses his arms while keeping his shade-clad orbs on him. "You came here with Sakura."

"Which probably means..." he looks behind him to spot Naruto, Kiba, and Lee having wide grins on their faces.

"You got laid." They all said at the same time.

He stares back at them for a few seconds, before looking back down at papers that needed signing for the day.

"No, I didn't."

"Yeah right." Shino scoffed. "You spent the night at her place, intimate and all, and you didn't sleep with her?"

"Aa."

"Seriously?" Shikamaru asked, bewildered.

"Hn."

"Come on, tell the truth." Neji pressed on while leaning forward.

"I don't lie unless needed."

"Is this one of those?"

"No, Naruto."

"Oh."

"Then what the hell did you do?" Neji asked with a raised brow. "I mean, seriously, you stayed there and did nothing?"

He gave a small grin. "I didn't say we didn't do anything."

They all fell silent.

"Cut the suspense already!" Shino leaned forward just as the rest did. "What happened?"

"Second base."

"..."

"She confessed."

"..."

"We're official now."

"..."

He finished signing the papers and soon got up from his seat at the library. "I guess I better look for another place wherein you guys won't find me."

"Not a chance." Shikamaru snorted. "We've got these two." He looked at Kiba and Naruto.

"Hn." He glanced at the two Shifters. "You better not sniff me out when you pick up Sakura's scent." And he left the others staring at his back, bewildered at his words.

"Did he just... imply something?" Lee asked with blinking eyes.

"That's definitely a 'do not disturb' warning." Shikamaru smirked. "Well, let's leave him be."

"...I still can't believe he did not have sex with her." Shino mumbled, earning a hit on the back of the head from Neji who was smirking at him. "What the hell?"

"Shino, Sasuke is _not_ like _you_."

"I do _not_ sleep with women."

"Sure you don't." Shikamari snickered. "Like hell we'd believe that."

"I haven't since we got here at least."

"...Wow, you're losing your touch."

"Shut up Neji."

* * *

"That's everything." He announced.

She sighed and looked at the stack of papers, before meeting the eyes of her boyfriend.

"What?"

"Is this going to be a... daily habit of yours?" She glared.

He gave her a cheeky grin. "Every. Single. Day."

Surprisingly enough for the rest of the Student Council members, the President ended up letting a small smile, and then laughed before getting up from her seat. "Then let's call it a day."

"Uh... no protests? No shouting and complaining? Nothing!"

Sakura looked at Ino's confused stare, and then at Tenten gaping at her, while Hinata seemed to have seen the whole thing coming and just packed her things.

"Well, it's hopeless getting this guy to stop." She pointed at Sasuke with her thumb, and then looked at the said boy with a small smile. "And... I really should appreciate it."

"Wow... this is... new..." Tenten uttered.

"So we'll be going ahead then." She told them and took Sasuke's offered hand. Their fingers automatically intertwined with each other, and with one more nod from Sakura, the pair left the room.

"Even I'm surprised, actually."

She looked at the raven-haired teen and tilted her head. "Is it really that surprising?"

"Considering how you react whenever I do your job, yes."

"Well, it's different now, maybe... I don't know." She shrugged. "I guess I'm just... really... happy..."

He smirked at how her voice grew softer with every word. "What was that?"

She turned red at this. "Oh shut up!"

* * *

_**Apathetic ****Silence: **No cliffhangers this time. It's an apology chapter._


End file.
